Bill with tribal safeguards to be tabled in Assembly on May 26
The newly sworn-in Assam government on Wednesday approved the introduction of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) during its first Cabinet meeting after the elections, placing the proposed legislation at the centre of its governance agenda.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said the bill would be tabled in the Assembly on May 26 during the session beginning May 21.
Sarma said the proposed UCC has been customised to reflect Assam’s social and cultural realities. Tribal communities in both the hills and plains will remain outside the ambit of the law, while religious rituals, customs and traditions will be protected. The legislation will address issues such as minimum age of marriage, compulsory registration of marriages and divorces, abolition of polygamy, inheritance rights for women, and regulation of live-in relationships. He said Assam’s version differs from models adopted in states such as Uttarakhand and Goa because of provisions safeguarding indigenous and tribal communities.
The Cabinet also decided that the BJP’s election manifesto would guide governance over the next five years. It approved the formation of a task force led by the Chief Secretary to prepare a roadmap for generating two lakh jobs within five years.
Amid global economic uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict, the government also announced austerity measures, including restrictions on new vehicle purchases, cuts in fuel expenditure, limits on foreign travel by officials, reduced VIP convoys, suspension of government-funded offline seminars for six months, and greater use of electric vehicles.
