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Union Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Sudhansh Pant, reviewed the implementation of various schemes of the Ministry in Assam, covering drug demand reduction, Scheduled Caste development, senior citizen welfare, sanitation workers and rehabilitation of vulnerable groups.
The meeting was held at Loksewa Bhawan and was attended by Ajay Tiwari, Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Political Department, Government of Assam; Pallav Gopal Jha, Secretary, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment; and senior officers of the State Government. During the review, the Union Secretary emphasised the need for a coordinated, whole-of-government approach, stressing that the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment must play an effective nodal role in bringing together the departments and agencies responsible for implementation. He highlighted the importance of convergence under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, PM-AJAY and NAMASTE, and appreciated the progress made by Assam while identifying areas requiring further attention. Under the Nasha Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan, activities have covered all districts of Assam, reaching 27.71 lakh people through 6,575 activities across 10,614 educational institutions. The State has also registered 13,712 Nasha Mukti Mitra volunteers and recorded 2,24,783 e-pledges. Assam has 16 Integrated Rehabilitation Centres for Addicts and six State Government-funded de-addiction and rehabilitation centres, in addition to other treatment and outreach facilities. Under PM-AJAY, 721 Scheduled Caste villages have been taken up for integrated development. The livelihood component has approved 5,269 beneficiaries, including women from Self-Help Groups and individual Scheduled Caste women, with an overall financial involvement of 26.34 crore. The scheme also includes a plan to construct 28 mini stadiums in Scheduled Caste-dominated areas. Under NAMASTE, 483 sewer and septic tank workers and 6,365 waste pickers have been profiled across 96 Urban Local Bodies. The programme focuses on occupational safety, personal protective equipment, health coverage and mechanised sanitation practices. The review also covered senior citizen welfare under AVYAY, protection of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and rehabilitation of persons engaged in begging under the SMILE scheme. Under the Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana, 10,715 senior citizens in Assam have been assisted, with 48,756 assistive devices distributed during 202627 up to 27 October 2026. The Union Secretary appreciated the efforts of the Department and the State Government team. The review emphasised the need for sustained interdepartmental coordination, effective beneficiary outreach, timely resolution of implementation bottlenecks and a stronger focus on documenting and publicising success stories to ensure that welfare interventions translate into tangible improvements in the lives of people across the State. (ANI)
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