Union home secretary designate Anil Goswami during the meeting with the civil and police administration at the circuit house in Kokrajhar on Tuesday. Telegraph picture

Kokrajhar, May 28: Union home secretary designate Anil Goswami visited Kokrajhar today and held two back-to-back meetings — first with the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) administration at the BTC Secretariat and then with the civil and police administration at the circuit house here.

Top officials, including IG police (BTAD) and senior officials from the army, CRPF and BSF attended the meeting at the circuit house.

“I have come here to know about the issues confronting the BTAD administration. I had a meeting with the BTC chief (Hagrama Mohilary) and the deputy chief (Kampha Borgoyary) and other council members where the issues concerning them and other development activities were discussed. It was a very useful meeting,” Goswami said.

The BTC has sought an additional Rs 250 crore from the Centre for development of the Bodo belt.

A BTC delegation, including Borgoyary, Bodo Rajya Sabha MP Biswajit Daimary and others had met officials of the Union home ministry to press for this demand on May 23.

The Centre was for direct funding to the BTC and increase the plan size from 4 per cent of Assam’s plan size to 12 per cent according to the population pattern.

The BTC leaders are also putting pressure on the Centre to implement some of the “unimplemented clauses” of the memorandum of settlement signed in 2003. Among the demands is inclusion of over 90 villages into the council.

So far, the Centre has released Rs 750 crore as a development package to the BTC.

On the meeting with the civil and police administration, Goswami said issues pertaining to the BTAD districts were discussed and “how they (officials) are looking after it and what they were suppose to do”.

However, he refused to answer questions regarding the deteriorating law and order in the region.

Lower Assam commissioner Sabbir Hussain accompanied Goswami.

From Kokrajhar, Goswami visited Dhubri where he is stated to visit the border area (Indo-Bangladesh border).