The river Brahmaputra is one of the most important and powerful waterways on the globe that greatly influenced the lives of the people of many countries including India, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. This river is known to originate from Western Tibet near Mount Kailash and flows through Tibet, the Northeast India and finally falls into the Bay of Bengal. The river also significantly flows through the state of Assam, and out of the total length of 2,900 kilometres of Brahmaputra, 720 kilometres run through the state of Assam. In fact, in Assam, the river is 1.5 to 10 kilometres wide but its width varies from place to place. Over the years, the livelihood of the people of Assam has been greatly dependent upon the river and as such the river is often also tagged as the lifeline of the Assamese Community. The potential of the river can also be further utilised in terms of irrigation facilities, hydroelectricity generation and supply of tap water to households amidst many other things.
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The state of Assam is popularly known for its ethnic population and most of the dwellers of the state mostly depend on agriculture as their source of livelihood. While discussing agricultural development of the state, it is essential to also take into account the irrigation development of the state as well. If we take the example of the state of Assam, the farmers of the state face two peculiar situations, viz, (a) excess water from natural resources like rain and other modes of water forms during wet kharif seasons and (b) less water or zero rainfall during rabi season. It is during that time of the year, when there is less rainfall to ensure proper cultivation, assured irrigation remains quite essential.
The irrigation potential of Assam has over the years recorded some interesting trends as the irrigation potential of the state has increased steadily over the years but the problem has always been with its utilisation. According to reports, only a mere 7% of Assam's net sown area receives irrigation during the Kharif season, as a result of which Assam often grapples with agricultural output, particularly in cultivation of the main crop of the region i.e. rice. Furthermore, the concerning fact is that according to reports only 14% of Assam's gross sown area is covered by irrigation projects and sadly out of around nearly 4000 irrigation projects in the state, more than 1500 are non-functional adding to the woes of the farmers. Although major and medium irrigation projects in Brahmaputra are undertaken like Bhumki Medium Irrigation Project, Bordikarai Major Irrigation Project, Borolia Medium Irrigation, Buridihing Lift Irrigation Project etc have been taken but the state still continues to suffer in terms of enhanced agricultural output during the dry season. A river flowing through a state is the blessing of nature and as such it's potential should be carefully utilised to improve irrigation facilities otherwise Assam shall continue to suffer from the predicament of 'scarcity amidst abundance'.
Apart from irrigation, another important thing that needs to be discussed is the imbalance in production and demand of power for the state of Assam. It has been noticed that with each passing year, there has been a gradual increase in the demand of power for the state. According to reports, in 2023, the average gross demand for the state at peak hour was 2,576 MW, but for the year 2024, it had touched 2,879 MW in the month of September. Furthermore, the total power consumption for the state in the first quarter of financial year 2023-24 was 3150 MU, while for the same period for the financial year 2024-25 it was 3,420 MU. Added to this, sources revealed that Assam generates only 320 MW of power, thereby leaving a huge gap between demand and generation. As such in this regard as well, the river Brahmaputra can be used to meet the energy demands by the creation of hydroelectric projects over it. To meet the demands, initiatives have already been undertaken to receive power from hydroelectricity projects like Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project, Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Project etc. But in this regard as well, the state government can work and formulate policies to generate more power in the form of hydroelectricity. It is further expected that Assam's hydroelectricity generation shall increase with the completion of the Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project and the Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Project, but only time can tell if Assam shall be able to meet its energy demands with increased industrialisation and commercialisation.
However, the state of Assam has significantly improved in terms of providing tap water connection in rural households. According to reports, 80 percent of rural households in Assam have tap water connection and the majority has been provided under the Jal Jeevan Mission. On August 15, 2019, when Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in the state only 1,10,931 rural households had tap water connection but post that an additional 56.41 lakhs rural households have received tap water connections. In spite of this remarkable achievement, one cannot deny the fact that the state still grapples with the problem of water supply. Not to go too far, the residents of the capital city of the state, i.e.Guwahati often encounter the dilemma of no water supply. The government also planned to provide water to 125,000 households of Guwahati by the end of 2024, but news items of disruption of water supply for 2 to 3 days in parts of the city do highlight the fact that the government has still not been completely successful in providing water to the homes of Guwahati even after the mighty Brahmaputra flowing through the city. In fact, if incidents of water disruption are still common in the capital city of Guwahati itself, one can imagine the state of affairs in terms of water supply for the state as a whole. Apart from these, another important aspect where the government can work upon taking into consideration that the river Brahmaputra flows through the state is the concept of river tourism. In fact, proper work on river tourism can further enhance the economy of the state.
Thus it is high time for the government of Assam to come up with more effective policies to make full use of the potential of Brahmaputra in different aspects for the greater benefit of the dwellers at large.
(The author is an Advocate at the Gauhati High Court. All views and opinions expressed are author’s own)
