New Delhi: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has set up a five-member committee to look into the implementation of all clauses of the accord signed with the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA). Headed by Piyush Goyal, additional secretary (Northeast-MHA), the other members of the committee include the additional chief secretary (Home) in the Assam Government, additional DG in the special branch and self-styled general secretary and foreign secretary of the outfit Anup Chetia and Sashadhar Choudhary.
“The committee will review the time-bound implementation of the accord signed with Ulfa,” a Home Ministry official said. The first meeting of the committee is scheduled to be held this week. “The committee members will meet from time to time to review the progress of the implementation of the Accord to ensure that it is fully implemented within a specific time frame of five years,” the official added.
Speaking to this correspondent Ulfa leader Anup Chetia said that the committee will ensure time-bound implementation of the agreement. The Ulfa leaders had recently met Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Guwahati and discussed the implementation of the accord and rehabilitation of the cadres of the outfit.
The Ulfa leaders were assured by Sarma that the implementation of the infrastructure projects under the accord would start soon after the Lok Sabha elections. Regarding the rehabilitation of the Ulfa cadres, Chetia said that the process would start soon. “We have submitted the list of our members for the early rehabilitation process and hopefully the process will start next month,” said Chetia. The outfit has submitted a list of 850 cadres for rehabilitation by the government.
The government, according to sources, is also planning to provide skill development courses to the members of the outfit after several of the members have expressed their interest to work in agriculture and other allied sectors. When asked about Paresh Barua, the elusive commander in chief of Ulfa-Independent, Chetia has expressed his hope that Barua will also come forward for talks. “We are hopeful that Paresh Barua will also come for talks,” he said. It is worth mentioning that the Central government and Assam government had recently signed a tripartite peace agreement with Ulfa ending the chapter of decades-long insurgency in Assam.
