The Assam government will give arms licences to indigenous people living in "vulnerable and remote" areas for instilling a sense of security in them, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference here, Sarma said the decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet after reviewing the "demand" of the people living in these areas.

"Assam is a very different and sensitive state. Assamese people living in some areas have been feeling insecure and they have been demanding arms licences for a long time," he said.

"The government will be lenient in giving licences to eligible people, who have to be original inhabitants and must belong to the indigenous community living in vulnerable and remote areas of the state," he added Sarma said some of the districts in this category are Dhubri, Morigaon, Barpeta, Nagaon and South Salmara-Mankachar.

"Our people are the minority in these places," he said.

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