 Guwahati, Tuesday, November 22, 2005  Revamp of Brahmaputra Board on cards:
DevFrom Our Staff Correspondent NEW DELHI, Nov 21 Revamp of the Brahmaputra Board was very much on the anvil and a final decision on North Bengal being made part of the Board is yet to be taken. Setting at rest speculations about the possibility of inclusion of North Bengal, officials of the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) hinted that it may not be included in Brahmaputra Board though it was one of the proposals that was considered by the Ministry. Officials are now working on a proposal to constitute a similar body for North Bengal and Sikkim. Briefing newsmen, soon after joining his additional assignment, Santosh Mohan Dev today said that priority of the MoWR would remain unchanged and focus would be on irrigation, anti-erosion work, flood control management. He said Tipaimukh project, Harrang Dam, protection of Majuli River Island were some of the other priority areas. A special package for protection of Majuli Island was being considered at the highest level, he divulged. Flanked by top officials of the MoWR, Central Water Commission, Brahmaputra Board, Dev, however, struck a cautious note, hinting that his stint with the Ministry may be short-lived. He has been advised by the Party High Command that the post may be his only for two-three until the next expansion. The Minister, nonetheless, said he would try to do the best possible, asserting that revamp of the Brahmaputra Board would be accorded top priority. The Prime Minister is not happy with the functioning of the Brahmaputra Board, which is to be shortly renamed. Change of name is only part of the proposal, as the idea is to tone up the functioning of the Board by giving it more power and converting it into an executing body. About the controversy arising out of Arunachal Pradesh Governments stand, the Minister clarified that the State has only tried to protect its interest. Interest of all sections would be protected, he assured. Arunachal Pradesh Governments objection to formation of North East Water Resources Authority (NEWRA), revamp of the Brahmaputra Board and advocacy of only run of the river water projects has put the spanners into Centres proposals. A team of Brahmaputra Board officials led by its chairman have just returned from the State after ascertaining their views. Meanwhile, the Minister said that the MoWR would play vital role and one of the areas of priority would be accelerated benefit through irrigation projects. The time frame for completion of fast track projects in three working session has been decided, Dev said. A conference of the State Irrigation Ministers has been convened on November 30 to deliberate on expansion of area under irrigation and increase of water efficiency would be addressed by the Prime Minister, he said. The Prime Ministers Bharat Nirman programme with a corpus of Rs 30,000 crore has six irrigation components, he said, adding pilot schemes in 16 district across nine States including Assam and West Bengal have been launched. About the anti-erosion projects in Brahmaputra and Ganga basins, he said the existing schemes would be strengthened. Under the five-year plan, Rs 150 crore has been allocated and the amount may be increased. The Minister also mentioned that the Silchar-Harrang drainage scheme pending for long would be expedited and all loose ends tied up. Dev understandably sounded unhappy with the lackadaisical attitude of the officials. Despite several complaints, no action has been taken by the officials, he lamented. For the protection of Majuli Island, a special package would be considered. But unless there is machinery to man it then there is no point in giving package, he said. The Tipaimukh Project has been cleared by the Public Investment Board (PIB) and it has been clarified to Bangladesh, which has raised objections to the project that it has no irrigation component. India would furnish to Bangladesh the dam parameters as and when it is ready. |
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