Centre sets up high-level committee for water management in northeast

NEW DELHI: The government has constituted a high-level committee for proper management of water resources in the northeastern states, an official statement said.

The panel was formed in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Guwahati in August this year to review the flood situation and relief work in the affected region.

The committee will be led by Niti Aayog vice-chairman Rajiv Kumar. It would facilitate optimising 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.

It is also tasked with spelling out actionable steps for optimising water resources in the north east and chalking out an action plan for dovetailing of the schemes of Union ministries concerned.

Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) will serve as the coordinating point.

The committee will submit its report by June 2018.

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 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 upper reaches involving concerned central ministries and state governments.

The

Brahmaputra

and Barak river systems which account for one-third of India’s run off, are highly prone to floods. 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.