STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, Sept 30 – Making a strong pitch for early materialisation of the proposed Brahmaputra River Valley Authority, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said that the Centre had sought the State’s opinion on the matter.
Gogoi who was addressing a press conference said that the Brahmaputra Board had failed to serve its purpose of managing the vast water resources of the Brahmaputra basin, especially the worsening menace of flood and erosion.
Terming the media criticism of the proposed authority in view of its apparently greater Central control as unfounded, Gogoi said that it would benefit the entire North-east and hence needed to be welcomed.
“In fact, we moved the proposal for the Brahmaputra River Valley Authority after Arunachal Pradesh opposed the idea of the North East Water Resource Authority. I would also say that the neighbouring States of the North-east apart, nations like China, Bangladesh and Bhutan should also be involved in the process of the management of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, as the river shares several international boundaries,” he said.
On the enhanced Central role in the affairs of the authority, Gogoi said that it was normal because the problem of flood was too big for the State to solve. “When you are calling for treating floods and erosion as a national problem, what is wrong in involving the Centre in a big way?” he questioned.
Gogoi, however, added that Assam would have enough say in the new body. “The Chief Ministers of the north-eastern States would be the vice-chairmen of the authority,” he said.
Gogoi who recently returned from Japan said that the State would enter into a collaborative disaster-mitigation endeavour with Japan, which had the best expertise on the front. He added that international bodies would be involved in addressing the flood woes of Assam, and that a related conference would be held next year.
Underscoring the need to have a concerted and coordinated effort for harnessing and managing the State’s water resources, the Chief Minister said that environment-damaging activities such as deforestataion, mining and quarrying in the upstream areas of Arunachal Pradesh were aggravating Assam’s flood situation.
Gogoi said that various developmental activities, especially construction of roads in the State had severely impacted the natural flow of rivers and other water-bodies, complicating the flood problem. “But now onwards, we will put adequate emphasis on maintaining the natural flow of channels while developing infrastructure,” he said.
Gogoi said that an integrated flood and erosion control mechanism would also involve large-scale plantation in all the flood-prone areas. “We are identifying such areas…we have also asked the Assam Agriculture University to intensify research on water-resistant seeds,” he said.
Terming erosion as even a greater menace than the annual floods, the Chief Minister said that over 4 lakh hectares of the State’s land had been eroded by the Brahmaputra.
“I have moved the Prime Minister over the twin menaces of flood and erosion, and he is taking it seriously,” he added.
On the damage by the latest wave of floods, Gogoi said that it affected over 29 lakh people in 2,660 villages in 20 districts. The affected cropland is 2.26 lakh hectares and the human fatalities so far stand at 32.
(News from The Assam Tribune Epaper )
GUWAHATI, Sept 30 – Making a strong pitch for early materialisation of the proposed Brahmaputra River Valley Authority, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said that the Centre had sought the State’s opinion on the matter.
Gogoi who was addressing a press conference said that the Brahmaputra Board had failed to serve its purpose of managing the vast water resources of the Brahmaputra basin, especially the worsening menace of flood and erosion.
Terming the media criticism of the proposed authority in view of its apparently greater Central control as unfounded, Gogoi said that it would benefit the entire North-east and hence needed to be welcomed.
“In fact, we moved the proposal for the Brahmaputra River Valley Authority after Arunachal Pradesh opposed the idea of the North East Water Resource Authority. I would also say that the neighbouring States of the North-east apart, nations like China, Bangladesh and Bhutan should also be involved in the process of the management of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries, as the river shares several international boundaries,” he said.
On the enhanced Central role in the affairs of the authority, Gogoi said that it was normal because the problem of flood was too big for the State to solve. “When you are calling for treating floods and erosion as a national problem, what is wrong in involving the Centre in a big way?” he questioned.
Gogoi, however, added that Assam would have enough say in the new body. “The Chief Ministers of the north-eastern States would be the vice-chairmen of the authority,” he said.
Gogoi who recently returned from Japan said that the State would enter into a collaborative disaster-mitigation endeavour with Japan, which had the best expertise on the front. He added that international bodies would be involved in addressing the flood woes of Assam, and that a related conference would be held next year.
Underscoring the need to have a concerted and coordinated effort for harnessing and managing the State’s water resources, the Chief Minister said that environment-damaging activities such as deforestataion, mining and quarrying in the upstream areas of Arunachal Pradesh were aggravating Assam’s flood situation.
Gogoi said that various developmental activities, especially construction of roads in the State had severely impacted the natural flow of rivers and other water-bodies, complicating the flood problem. “But now onwards, we will put adequate emphasis on maintaining the natural flow of channels while developing infrastructure,” he said.
Gogoi said that an integrated flood and erosion control mechanism would also involve large-scale plantation in all the flood-prone areas. “We are identifying such areas…we have also asked the Assam Agriculture University to intensify research on water-resistant seeds,” he said.
Terming erosion as even a greater menace than the annual floods, the Chief Minister said that over 4 lakh hectares of the State’s land had been eroded by the Brahmaputra.
“I have moved the Prime Minister over the twin menaces of flood and erosion, and he is taking it seriously,” he added.
On the damage by the latest wave of floods, Gogoi said that it affected over 29 lakh people in 2,660 villages in 20 districts. The affected cropland is 2.26 lakh hectares and the human fatalities so far stand at 32.
(News from The Assam Tribune Epaper )
-Abakash Majuli
