Guwahati: Assam Government’s scheme to provide flats to journalists exposes the growing chasm within the media fraternity with many suspecting that the government is siding with those scribes whose pen wields more influence.
Governments indulging in cultivating journalists for a friendlier press is nothing new and the Assam government is no exception, ostensibly trying to cultivate journalists it favours in return for “favours”, this time through the flats developed by Assam State Housing Board.
Following the Government’s scheme to provide flats to scribes, Journalists’ Forum Assam (JFA) now demands a fair distribution of flats, to media persons so that the real needy families get the opportunity instead of continued possession by rich personnel including the editor-journalists.
The forum also insists on affidavits by the housing flat owners declaring that they don’t have private houses in the city.
“It is understood that many affluent media personalities have been occupying the affordable housing flats in various parts of the city. Once the housing flat owners become wealthy to buy properties (including luxurious apartments), they should abandon the housing flats so that more needy families can get those,” said JFA president Rupam Barua and secretary Nava Thakuria.
The scribe’s forum argues that there is nothing wrong to acquire a housing flat when one is looking for an affordable place to live in the city, but once he or she becomes wealthier (to have private apartments), it should be a general conscience to leave the affordable flats so that it can be handed over to the neediest families. Journalists should show the gesture first, the JFA stated.
“The concerned authority must take an initiative to identify those wealthy housing flat owners (if necessary, an affidavit by them can be asked to submit) to recover those flats meant for low-income families,” said the JFA statement, adding that State Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma should formulate relevant policies so that the new-found rich owners have to abandon their old housing flats voluntarily.
– global bihari bureau
