Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday handed over fixed deposit certificates of Rs 4 lakh each to 1,105 former members of NDFB, a disbanded militant group, as part of a rehabilitation scheme for former militants promised in the new Bodoland Accord.
Handing over the certificates at a function in Tamulpur in Baksa district, Sarma requested them to make good use of the money to start an economic movement in the state.
A total of 1,650 cadres belonging to all four factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) had laid down their weapons on January 30 last year, days after a new Bodoland Accord was signed with them and those agitating for a seperate Bodoland state. The accord promised special financial assistance for rehabilitation of the cadres, who gave up arms and decided to join the mainstream, apart from several other infrastructure projects.
Sarma said the fixed deposit certificates for the rest of the former NDFB members would also be given gradually.
Sarma also called upon the ex-cadres who returned to the mainstream not to be swayed away by any external stimulus or pressure and co-operate with the government in its bid to build and promote a socio-economic, cultural and academic empowerment narrative in the state.
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