[Assam] Brahmaputra Valley Authority

[biswajeet saikia]

  Brahmaputra valley authority

   
  The repeated opposition of the state of Arunachal Pradesh for setting up North East Water Resources Authority (NEWRA) raises many questions on the part of the development of the north eastern region. The fundamental question is why we need an authority while we have the Brahmaputra Board. The Brahmaputra board is an advisory body set up under the ministry of Water resources for conducting survey as well as preliminary report for harnessing the vast water resources as well as the control of flood. How much the Brahmaputra board has achieved in last 30 years is a big question? On the line of the proposed preliminary report by the Brahmaputra board, there is a need to set up an authority (with financial, monitoring, execution right) to harness these vast water resources. Therefore, we need an institution for the integrated development of water resources in entire region including Sikkim. Also, in these past years, there are always grievances that the Brahmaputra Board is
 running with a chairman or an executive engineer with hydrological expertise. The proposed authority needs to careful about the requirement of the manpower available across the world for harnessing these resources. In a critical condition where there are many fold problems of harnessing these resources in the region, the appropriate manpower availability is the basic critical question along with community participation. [For more detail see Biswajeet Saikia, Harnessing the Brahmaputra and Disaster Management, Unpublished M. Phil dissertation, South Asia Centre, JNU, 2000. and Sanjay Hazarika and Biswajeet Saikia, Assam Development Report, Planning Commission, 2002.]
   
  Although Government of India is planning to set up the proposed NEWRA under the ministry of Water resources, but there is a need to integrated the authority with the involvement of Ministry of Power, Ministry of Environment, all the state governments as well as the Ministry of DONER. The authority should have financial power to finance all projects related to water sector development for harnessing hydro electricity, irrigation, fishery as well as tourism.
   
  Looking the 10th FY plan expenditure, it is found that all the states are not able to spent allocated 10% fund for the development of the region which comes back to the respective ministry and diverted it to non lapsable pool fund of the ministry of DONER. Presently estimating total available fund under the Non Lapsable fund at the ministry is around 5000 crore, which could be again diverted to the states buy the equity of these proposed Power projects. As Arunachal Government is requesting Planning Commission to allocate special fund to buy the equity in these power project at 11%, the other state should also raise their voices to claim their share for an equitable equity share in these power projects. Therefore, recently I am suggesting setting up North East Water and Power Finance Corporation (NEWPFCO) for claiming appropriate stake in the power projects in the region through investing from non lapsable pool money for each state. [See Biswajeet Saikia, Power Projects
 and Economic Development of North Eastern India, ORF Energy News Monitor, Volume III, Issue 26, 13 – 19 December 2006.] 
   
   
   
  Unless these project are not set up after a common consensus of all the states in the region, many problems could be rise. Among them, corridor rights over the Assam from the power transmission from the projects in the Arunachal Pradesh, transportation of the goods for the construction of the huge infrastructure, loss of the agriculture land due to submersion of the vast land, low availability of the lean season water in the lower riparian region etc. The state of Assam particularly needs to raise these issues before coming to an agreement with Arunachal Pradesh as well Ministry of Water Resources.
   
  Biswajeet Saikia

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