Assam CM urges Centre to set up mechanism on infiltration

Guwahati, June 10: A day after President Pranab Mukherjee emphasised on resolving the illegal immigration issue in the Northeast on a priority basis,

Chief Minister

requested the Centre to develop a mechanism to go about the task.

"Illegal infiltration is there and it is an important issue. I appreciate that the president spoke about solving the issue on priority. I request the NDA government to develop a mechanism to prevent, detect and deport illegal Bangladeshis," Gogoi said in a press conference.

The president in his address to the joint sitting of Parliament had said: "The issue of infiltration and illegal immigrants in the North East region will be tackled on priority and all pending fencing work along the North East border will be completed."

Gogoi thanked President Pranab Mukherjee for raising the issue of infiltration

However, Gogoi felt that that unemployment was the most important problem for Assam. "For me, unemployment is the number one problem. It is the most important issue of the state," Gogoi said in a press conference here. Gogoi said that the state government along with the Centre during the UPA tenure had taken many steps to stop infiltration across the border.

The chief minister said the state government had sought a special package for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises sector to create employment in Assam. "As scope is very limited in skill development, so we have to create jobs through the MSME sector. In the meeting with the Union Finance Minister yesterday, we sought a special package for the sector," he added. Gogoi also said the state government has requested the Centre to release the royalty payment for crude oil drilled in Assam by PSUs like Oil India and ONGC. "

Since 2008, the companies are paying us discounted royalty. This has resulted in a loss of Rs 10,000 crore to the state exchequer. This was the same case with Gujarat also. However, they filed a case in the Supreme Court and won. So, we now hope to get the money soon," he pointed out.

PTI