Assam Assembly Passes Four Important Bills

 Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Four important Bills—Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024; the Assam Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill, 2024; the Assam State School Education Bill, 2024; and the Assam Tourism (Development and Registration) Bill, 2024—were passed in the state Assembly today.

Regarding the Assam Healing (Prevention of Evil) Practices Bill, 2024, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the bill is aimed at putting a halt to unscientific practices being done with ulterior motives. Traditional healing systems that have no evil motive in their practice or do not seek to exploit the community will continue, he added.

The opposition parties pointed out that there was no clarity in the definition of ‘evil practice’ and stressed that there should not be any effect on the traditional healing systems.

Regarding the Assam Tourism (Development and Registration) Bill, 2024, state Tourism Minister Jayanta Mallabaruah said that the objective of the bill is to regulate the tourism sector. He stated that the bill is aimed at revitalizing and promoting the tourism sector in the state. The bill will pave the way for collating and recording the data on the stakeholders in the sector, which is not available at present, he stated. The contribution of tourism to the state GDP is 6.23%, he pointed out.

Education Minister Ranoj Pegu said that the objective of the Assam State School Education Bill, 2024, is to develop, regulate, and supervise the standard and quality of school education in the state. The bill will merge the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council and the Board of Secondary Education, Assam, into a single entity named the School Education Board, which will place more emphasis on the administrative side, Pegu said.

Another important bill, the Assam Public Examination (Measures for Prevention of Unfair Means in Recruitment) Bill, 2024, was passed in the House today. From now on, to punish any examinee indulging in extending unauthorized help in the form of material written, recorded, copied, or printed, with imprisonment of a term of up to three years and a fine not less than one lakh rupees. The bill empowers the court to make an order for recovery of any wrongful gains made by a person in an organized crime in conspiracy with the examination authority.

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