People can now cut certain trees grown in their homestead & arable lands without permission of Forest Dept: Cabinet

Feb. 21: From now, people can fell trees grown in their homestead and arable lands without any permission from the state Forest Department. The trees include mango, Jamun, simolu, Chandan, Kadam, bamboo, devdaru, Shirish, agar, guava, etc. This major decision was taken in the weekly Assam Cabinet meeting held under the leadership of Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday.

“We have taken this step to boost the agroforestry sector. Due to restrictions on felling homegrown trees, the plywood industry cannot thrive in the state. We will also set up an agroforestry corporation to benefit the state farmers,” stated Chief Minister Dr Sarma. In this connection, the Assam Forest Regulation, 1891 will be amended.

Apart from this, 2 other major decisions were taken, which include, holding combined competitive examinations for all gazetted posts and taking ADB loans for Assam Skill University. From now, the APSC will hold the examinations for Grade A and Grade B posts along with the civil service examinations. The Cabinet today entrusted the APSC to recruit 48 types of additional posts. From now, the APSC will hold the combined civil service examinations once a year for all departments. Appointment to different types of posts will depend on the marks secured by the candidates in the combined examinations. It is a major APSC reform.