Fri Mar 21 09:58:16 UTC 2025: ## Assam Grants PRCs to Morans Denied in Arunachal Pradesh

**GUWAHATI, March 21, 2025** – The Assam state cabinet, led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, has announced it will issue Permanent Residence Certificates (PRCs) to members of the Moran community residing in Arunachal Pradesh. This decision comes as the Moran community, along with five others, are denied PRCs in Arunachal Pradesh, hindering their access to essential services and benefits. The move is particularly significant with Assam’s assembly elections a year away.

The Morans, a sizeable community on both sides of the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, are among six groups seeking Scheduled Tribe (ST) status in Assam. The lack of PRCs in Arunachal Pradesh prevents them from accessing jobs, education, and other government benefits despite their historical presence in the region predating Arunachal Pradesh’s separation from Assam in 1972.

Chief Minister Sarma stated that the Assam PRCs will allow Morans in Arunachal Pradesh to access jobs, higher education, and reservation benefits within Assam. This decision follows protests and highway blockades by the Moran community in Arunachal Pradesh, highlighting their grievances. While the Assam government is engaging with Arunachal Pradesh on the issue, the immediate provision of Assam PRCs aims to alleviate the community’s hardships.

The move, however, has been met with opposition from Arunachal Pradesh, where organizations representing indigenous communities fear it will infringe on their rights. Similar concerns were raised in 2019 when a similar proposal was made by the Arunachal Pradesh government, leading to widespread protests.

In other significant decisions, the Assam Cabinet also approved ₹262 crore for improving tea garden roads and amended the Kamatapur Autonomous Council Act to increase the number of constituencies and include more villages with significant populations of Koch-Rajbongshi, SC, ST, OBC, and MOBC communities. Additionally, a civil hospital in Goalpara was renamed in honor of a freedom fighter.

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