List Erosion for Calamity Aid, CM Sarbananda Sonowal urges Centre

Delhi moved to convert 4,474 km old embankments into roads as well

GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has urged the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti to take to convert 4,474-km of old embankments of Assam into ‘road-cum-embankments’, besides including erosion in the admissible list of calamities for assistance under the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force) and the SDRF (State Disaster Response Force).

The Chief Minister made the requests at the review meeting of the 10th high-powered review board of the Brahmaputra Board chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in Guwahati on Saturday. Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti Ratan Lal Kataria, ministers of north-eastern States, the chairman of Brahmaputra Board and other officials were also present at the meeting, a press release said. Sonowal said that the State government constructed nearly 4,474 km of embankments since 1954. Most of the embankments are vulnerable due to expiry of their longevity, he said.

Stating that river erosion in Assam is of serious magnitude, the Chief Minister said that the State has already lost several hectares of plain land together with loss of many public and private infrastructures. He said that erosion is also systematically destroying the chain of embankments, which provide relief from annual floods. He said that there is an urgent need to look into the matter for a permanent solution to protect the State from further erosion.

Sonowal said that following a directive from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a high-level committee for proper management of water resources in the Northeast under the chairmanship of Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog was constituted for evolving an integrated flood management strategy. The report of the committee suggested for establishment of the North East Water Management Authority, he said, adding that there is a need to expeditiously prepare a roadmap for the authority, the release added.

The Chief Minister also underlined need for taking up scientific and corrective dredging of Brahmaputra, Barak and their tributaries in a time bound manner for effective erosion management.

Moreover, highlighting the need for study of flash floods caused by the rivers flowing from Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan, he stressed soil conservation and catchment area management in the hilly States.

The Chief Minister also underlined the need for sharing hydro-meteorological data, adopting latest technique of data analysis and flood early warning system and requested the Union ministry to take steps for constitution of the North East Data Centre at Guwahati. The Chief Minister has also requested the Ministry to revive the flood management programme (FMP) and to release the balance central share of the FMP schemes which have already been taken up in the State.

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