About Us
The role and responsibilities of the Social Justice & Empowerment Department is to ensure the fair division and distribution of Resources, Opportunities, and Privileges within the society. Its importance will increase phenomenally in the near future due to the heightened social awareness of the problems faced by people belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Other Backward Classes, Senior Citizens, Transgenders, Manual Scavengers and Differently Abled persons.
This Department has the mandate to ensure proper care of the uncared, protection of the most vulnerable sections of the society and creation of an environment which is conducive to the all round development both by taking the caring and protective hands of the Government to them and by giving intensified fillip to the non- government initiatives aimed at reaching out to them.
The functions of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment are as follows:
• Administration, formulation and implementation of policies and programmes for welfare and development of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the State.
• Implementation of the programs /Schemes of the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP), components of Annual Plan, Central and State Government's funded programmes for the welfare of SC and OBC communities in the State.
• Matters relating to Assam State Development Corporation for Schedule Caste Limited, Assam State Development Corporation for Other Backward Classes Limited & Assam State Backward Classes Commission.
• Welfare of Senior Citizens, Welfare of Differently Abled Persons & Welfare of Transgender.
• To act as the Nodal Department for matters pertaining to Disability.
• Establishment and maintenance of Old Age Homes, Halfway Homes/ Homes for persons suffering from mental illness.
• Special schemes aimed at rehabilitation and social, educational and economic empowerment of Persons with Disabilities.
• Awareness generation and prevention of alcohol, drugs and substance abuse.
• Awareness generation, research, evaluation and training of various schemes.
• Implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (49 of 2016)
• Matters relating to inclusion and exclusion of any community in the Scheduled Caste, and Other Backward Classes List of Assam.
• Matters relating to the following Development Councils (OBC and General): -
i. Kalita Development Council;
ii. Gorkha Development Council;
iii. Nath Yogi Development Council;
iv. Bishnupriya Manipuri Development Council;
v. Manipuri Development Council;
vi. Hindi Speaking Development Council;
vii. Bengali Speaking Development Council;
viii. Keot Development Council;
ix. Sut Development Council;
x. Goria Development Council;
xi. Tai Ahom Development Council;
xii. Chutia Development Council;
xiii. Koch Rajbongshi Development Council;
xiv. Maimal Development Council;
xv. Moria Development Council;
xvi. Sadharan Jati Development Council;
xvii. Adivasi Development Council;
xviii. Tea and Ex- Tea Garden Development Council;
xix. Chaodang Development Council;
xx. Kumar Development Council;
xxi. Jolha Development Council;
xxii. SC Development Council;
xxiii. Brahmin Development Council.
• Matters related to State Level Scrutiny Committee (SLSC) for verification of Schedule Caste (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) Caste Certificates.
• National Commission for Schedule Caste (SC) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
• Parliamentary Committees / Assembly Committees for welfare of Other Backward Classes (OBC) & Welfare of Scheduled Caste (SC).
• Matter relating to Manual Scavengers.
• Matters relating to the following Autonomous Councils:-
i. The Moran Autonomous Council Act;
ii. The Motok Autonomous Council Act; and
iii. The Kamatapur Autonomous Council Act.
• The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 to prevent the Commission of offences of atrocities against the members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes.