A panel of the Brahmaputra Board has approved Rs 237 crore project for protection of Majuli Island in Assam from flood and erosion and suggested setting up a Centre for Brahmaputra studies in IIT, Guwahati.
The Centre for Brahmaputra studies will cover multi-disciplinary aspects of hydrology, environment, inland waterways, agriculture and sociology. The central government will support establishment of the Centre.
The project was approved by the High-Powered Review Board (HPRB) in its last meeting, chaired by the Union water resources minister Nitin Gadkari, at Borgos, Kaziranga in Assam on December 30, 2017.
The Board in its meeting had taken many other decisions on the river Brahmaputra. It includes setting up the Brahmaputra Board office complex in Majuli and handing over the works to the National Projects Construction Corporation (NPCC) - a PSU under the water resources ministry.
It was also decided in the meeting that the HPRB to actively take up afforestation and catchment area treatment in the upper riparian states to prevent soil erosion and sedimentation.
The Board also approved that the task of preparing master plan, feasibility reports and detailed project reports (DPRs) for development of the complete Brahmaputra basin be given to another PSU of the ministry - WAPCOS (Water and Power Consultancy Services).
(Source: TOI)