Corrective dredging of rivers and tributaries; It's a pipedream

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Only a nine-month working period is left for the BJP-led State Government now. In such a situation, the proposed corrective dredging of rivers and their tributaries in both the Brahmaputra and the Barak valleys in the State is set to remain a pipedream.

Soon after coming to power in May 2016, the coalition government in the State made public its policy of dredging the rivers and their tributaries in both the valleys in Assam. Later, the government brought a change in the policy and named it as 'corrective dredging'. Corrective dredging is 'dredging where necessary to maintain the depth of rivers'.

Since a dredger is needed for corrective dredging of rivers, the State Water Resources department decided to purchase one. The administrative approval of Rs 18 crore for the purchase of the dredger was given way back in fiscal 2017-18 under the SDRF (State Disaster Response Fund) by the Revenue and Disaster Management department. The department then floated tenders twice, but found no bidders. That led the department to float a global tender. With a party expressing its interest, the work order was issued to it. However, the department is still waiting for approval of funds from the Finance department.

Now the State is under the first wave of floods, and floods in Assam stay till the first part of October. Against this backdrop, purchasing a dredger after getting financial approval from the Finance Department and going for corrective dredging in the rivers during floods is not possible. Thus an avowed policy of the government is set to remain a pipedream. 

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