Guwahati Should Be Headquarters of NE Water Management Authority: Assam Govt

GUWAHATI: The Assam government has raised an objection to the proposal of a Central high-level committee for setting up the headquarters (HQ) of the proposed North East Water Management Authority (NEWMA) in Itanagar, and observed that the main office of the organization should be set up in Guwahati instead.

Considering the facts that Assam has the major share of the Brahmaputra and Barak river systems —which account for one-third of India’s run-off natural water systems, and are highly prone to floods — and also that Assam as a downstream State bears the brunt of floods caused by the river and its tributaries during monsoon, the HQ of NEWMA should be in Assam and not Arunachal Pradesh, mentioned Dispur in its observations on the draft report of the high-level committee constituted by the Central government for proper management of water resources in the North Eastern Region (NER). The Brahmaputra is one of the largest river systems in the world and causes considerable distress and costs on the region through frequent flooding and erosion.

The Central panel formed under the Chairmanship of Vice-Chairman, Niti Aayog, on October 4, 2017 carried out appraisal studies across the NER and after preparing its draft report forwarded it to all the States of NER seeking their views on it. This is a sequel to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Guwahati in August, 2017, to review the flood situation and relief work in the north-eastern States. During the review of the flood situation with the Chief Ministers of Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, the Prime Minister had announced constitution of a High-Level Committee for the holistic management of water resources in the NER. The meeting noted that the optimum management of water resources is a cross-cutting task which requires multi-sectoral interventions and concerted strategy, including management of catchment areas in the upper reaches involving the concerned Central Ministries and State Governments.

The Committee was formed to facilitate optimizing benefits of appropriate water management in the form of hydro-electric power, agriculture, bio-diversity conservation, reduced flood damage erosion, inland water transport, forestry, fishery and eco-tourism. The Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) serves as the coordinating point.

The Committee includes Secretaries from the Ministries of Development of NER, Department of Border Management, Department of Space, Power, Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and National Disaster Management Authority and Chief Secretaries of all the eight States in NER as Members. The Committee can co-opt or invite as special invitees Secretaries of other Ministries / Departments as well as experts who have domain knowledge in the matter.

The report of the high-level committee would be studied by the new government in the Centre after May 23 when results of the general elections-2019 would be declared.

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