THE TRIBUNE ANALYSIS

DATE – 11th May, 2021

For Preliminary and Mains examination

As per new Pattern of APSC

(Also useful for UPSC and other State level government examinations)

CONTENTS

1. sworn in as 15th CM (GS 5 – Polity)

EDITORIALS

1. Challenges ahead (GS 5 – Polity and Governance)

2. Tezpur fire (GS 5 – Disaster management related)

Himanta Biswa Sarma sworn in as 15th CM

• Himanta Biswa Sarma today took oath as the 15th of the State, along with 13 other Ministers. • The other members of the Cabinet, which is likely to be expanded soon are- Atul Bora, UG Brahma, Ajanta Neog, Ranjeet Kumar Dass, Chandra Mohan Patowary, Keshab Nlahanta, Parimal Suklabaidya, Pijush Hazarika, Jogen Mohan, Ashok Singhal, Ranoj Pegu, Sanjay Kishan and Bimal Bora. • Governor Prof. Jagdish Mukhi administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Cabinet members at a swearing-in ceremony held at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra. The portfolios to the cabinet members are yet to be allotted. Among the Cabinet members, seven were ministers in the last Ministry and six are new faces. • UG Brahma took the oath in Bodo, Parimal Suklabaidya in Bengali and Ashok Singhal in English. The rest of the members including Sarma who was clad in a traditional dhoti and kurta took oath in Assamese. • Among the guests at the function included BJP national president JP Nadda, Union DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries , outgoing Chief Minister , Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio, Assam Pradesh Congress chief Ripun Bora, BPF chief . Also wife of Sarma, Riniki Bhuyan Sarmaa and mother Mrinalini Devi. • After the oath-taking ceremony, Sarma told newsmen that combating the worsening Covid-19 situation would be the new Government's immediate and topmost priority even as it would strive to fulfil all the pledges made in the last Assembly election in a time-bound manner.

• "We had made a number of promises in the polls and now is the time to honour those in a time-bound manner. Our efforts would go towards transforming Assam into one of the top five developed States of the country. The Government's immediate focus will be on tackling the Covid-19 situation which is currently alarming," " he said. Sarma said that the Government would start working from day one "as there were many challenges" and the first Cabinet meeting would be held tomorrow to chalk out a plan of action to address the priorities. • "A new journey has been on since the last five years under the leadership of Sarbananda Sonowal and Prime Minister Modi and our job is to carry forward the momentum to greater heights in the next five years," he said. • Sarma added that flood control, employment generation, improving the law-and-order situation, especially in terms of making it safe for women, and effecting lasting peace and progress were the goals of the Government. • Congratulating the new Cabinet, Congress leader Ripun Bora said that the opposition would cooperate with the Government and play the role of a constructive opposition.

EDITORIALS

Challenges ahead

• Having come to power in the midst of the second wave of the lethal Covid-19 pandemic, the first and foremost task of the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led new Assam Government would be to tackle it. • Everything else at this precise moment, including the economic well-being of citizens, flows from this nodal issue and no further time must be wasted in coming to grips with it. • Currently, the State is witnessing a rising trajectory of the Covid-19 graph, both in terms of afflictions and deaths recorded, and exigent measures are required to slow its pace so that our health system is not overwhelmed as had been the case with Delhi, Maharashtra or UP. • As the State Health Minister in the former Sonowal Government responsible for handling the first wave, Sarma fortunately is well versed in the measures which need to be taken, including increasing hospitalization capacity, ensuring adequate supply of oxygen and life-saving drugs, invigorating the testing and contact tracing regime, making certain that the public follow the laid down Covid-19 protocol, etc. • There too is an urgent need to speed up the pace of vaccination so that as many individuals as possible are inoculated within a short span of time in order to stave off a possible third wave. Simultaneously, the State must step in to assist in cash or kind the vulnerable segment of population most affected by restrictive measures. • Though over seven decades have passed since independence, Assam remains underdeveloped, being slotted very low in the NITI Aayogs progress reports. "Thus, at the broader level, the new Government's long-term challenge would be to usher in holistic development in all sectors, health, education, infrastructure, etc. The unemployment and underemployment problem is acute in the State, and only large-scale industrialization would be able to solve this. • Assam has been singularly unsuccessful in acquiring corporate investment so far, and the new Government must renew its efforts to woo investors, especially in the manufacturing sector. It is indeed unfortunate that the window of opportunity offered by the Act East Policy is in danger of being shut down due to the coup in Myanmar.

• But the State must prod the Centre to try and complete the essay at land connectivity with ASEAN nations which would benefit the entire Northeast. Assam being a small State with multitudinous difficulties, not the least being the annual floods which recurrently devastate infrastructure, the challenges ahead are many for the new State Government. • There too are issues related to illegal infiltration, updating of the NRC, implementation of Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, etc., which have to be dealt with. However, Sarma's track record as an administrator has been admirable and the people of Assam, while wishing him well, will hope that he would be able to lead them to a brighter future.

Tezpur fire

• The inferno that ravaged a large part of the Chowk Bazar— the commercial hub of the Tezpur town — was a disaster in the making. Many of the structures were standing there for decades and had been a part of the historic town's old-world charm and heritage. • Shocking as it was, it is our thoughtless acts of omission and commission over the years that had prepared the ground for such a catastrophe. • It raises vital questions not just on our firefighting preparedness but also on the negligence of our government authorities — especially those entrusted with sustaining our urban landscape's growth and development as also the penchant among our citizens to put narrow personal 'gains' above planned growth. • There have been major fires across the State in the recent past but regrettably the lessons were not learnt, paving in the process the way for the disaster to take place. Among the worst hit by the Chowk Bazar tragedy are the small traders, and the Government should intervene in the matter of their rehabilitation. • As the blaze and many other similar cases before have exposed, the uncontrolled growth of market places within a limited area severely magnifies the risks of fire and any other disaster besides hindering fire-control operations.

• Apparently, norms of urban growth have been flouted in allowing more and more business activities with confined spaces --- a trend noticeable across the State's urban landscape. The inadequacy and under- preparedness of the State Fire Service Organization — an integral component of the disaster-response mechanism too, remains an area of serious concern. • It is, therefore, to add innovations to our fire fighting capabilities. Modern state-of-the-aft equipment is needed to tackle such emergencies in congested areas. • Then, the fact that our cities and towns continue to expand in a haphazard manner serves to heighten the fire-related hazards. • An invariable irritant that delays firefighting efforts is the large number of narrow, crowded lanes in many localities, mostly commercial areas. The past 10 years have witnessed some 2,000 fire incidents in the State, resulting in the death of several hundred people and injury to even more — not to mention the huge costs of property loss. • With better amenities at its disposal, the fire service could have minimized the losses substantially. Along with listing fire fighting mechanism, equal stress has to be laid on ensuring that buildings including commercial establishments, educational institutions, market complexes, etc., comply with strict fire- safety norms. • Slack enforcement and corruption have invariably been resulting in rampant flouting of mandatory fire- prevention norms. If the authorities are indeed serious about minimizing fire hazards, this appalling lacuna needs to be addressed at the earliest. • All newly-built commercial buildings must be compelled to follow adequate fire- safety norms, old buildings not possessing the required facilities too need to be equipped with those. Any violation of fire- safety norms should be viewed sternly, and a hard crackdown on the violators is a must.