China must ensure there's no impact of dam in Arunachal & Assam, says Pema Khandu

A CORRESPONDENT

ITANAGAR: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has said that the State government wants assurance from the Chinese government that the construction of dam on the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra River in China will not have its impact in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. There is international water policy in every country, and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will deal with the matter if China is constructing a dam in the Brahmaputra River.

Speaking to the reporters at Directorate of Indigenous Affairs (DIA), Chimpu here on Tuesday, Khandu said, "Even if China is constructing the dam in their territory, it should be assured that it will not create flood-like situations in our State or Assam," he said, adding that the Indian government is also well aware of problems faced by the State due to such acts from the Chinese government earlier.

According to reports, China is planning to build a major hydropower project in Tibet Part of the Brahmaputra River. It is also learnt that the Chinese government has also finalized a company to construct the dam.

When questioned on the update on the Tawang Church issue, Khandu said that the issue is actually of 'land' but some people are making it a 'religious issue'. "For me the matter is not at all a religious issue as India as a whole is a secular country. We have constituted a committee to resolve the issue within six months," he added.

Khandu also informed that the State government will soon discuss on the issues concerning the public due to the inclusion of two BJP Non-APST contestants for the ensuing local bodies' election in Changlang district.

Khandu — who personally does not want the rural local body election to be held on the ground of political parties — said that it was the Opposition party who raised its voice against the proposal. Therefore, the decision was made in the Assembly session to go ahead with the rural body elections involving the political party system, he added.

When questioned as to why local entrepreneurs are not involved in the process to procure anti-COVID facemasks for students in spite of procuring it from 'Khadi India', Khandu said that the problem is with the high price for such masks. Pointing out that the local entrepreneurs during the tendering process to procure such masks had placed very high rates, he added that it is not acceptable. The local entrepreneurs should also be vibrant and put up acceptable prices," he said, adding that it will then be a win-win situation for the entrepreneurs as well the State government.

Khandu also informed that the proposal to get facemasks from 'Khadi India' is still in the early stage, and nothing has been finalized as yet. "Our priority is to encourage local entrepreneurs; therefore we have removed the demand for such products from the GeM portal," he added.

'GeM' is the short form of one-stop 'Government e-Market Place' hosted by DGS&D (Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. It is a Central purchase and quality assurance organisation where common user goods and services can be procured. The portal was launched on August 9, 2016.

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