Guwahati: Accusing the BJP and Asom Gana Parishad of playing politics over flood and poaching of rhinos, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Sunday announced that his government will bring out two white papers on flood relief and wildlife conservation to “expose” the opposition parties.
Speaking to reporters at the state secretariat here, Gogoi said “the opposition parties always keep on saying that our government has failed on all fronts. I am ready to bring out white papers on any issue which will show what they did during their rule and what my government has done.”
He said the white papers on ‘Flood Relief’ and ‘Wildlife and Forest Conservation’ would highlight the work done by the Congress government in Assam and the UPA government at the centre and also contain facts about initiatives taken by the previous AGP regime in the state and the NDA at the centre.
The Chief Minister, however, did not provide any time frame for the release of the two white papers. The state government is, meanwhile, scheduled to release a white paper on the issue of illegal immigration on October 7.
“We have taken all measures to mitigate the suffering of the people affected by flood…And our performance in wildlife conservation is one of the best in the country,” Gogoi said.
He said the NDA government of A B Vajpayee gave only Rs 59 crore when Assam suffered a massive flood calamity in 1998, while during the UPA government’s time Rs 211 crore was provided in 2004, Rs 300 crore in 2008 and over Rs 500 crore this year.
“They only talk big. Even when BJP leader Bijoya Chakravarty was Union Water Resources Minister, Assam only got Rs 225 crore for various projects under water resources. Under the UPA, we have secured Rs 1,722 crore from the Centre.
“Our performance is better in all fields and we will lay bare all facts in the white papers,” Gogoi said.
Meanwhile, Assam may soon get a State Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (SWCCB) in line with the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said this to journalists in the state capital Dispur on Sunday.
He added that the decision was taken considering a rise in wildlife linked crimes in Assam, particularly the poaching of the rare one-horned rhinos.
“We want to set up a SWCCB to look after all wildlife crimes in the state. We will also seek help from international organisations who have been working to stop wildlife crime across the world,” said Gogoi.
Gogoi urged political parties to stop playing “politics” over the issue and said the number of animals like one-horned rhinos, elephants and tigers had been rising since his government took power in Dispur.
The announcement came at a time when the state forest department has drawn flake due to growing poaching of one horned rhinos in Assam.
While suspected poachers have killed six rhinos in the past one week, horns of two rhinos were chopped off when they were still alive near the Kaziranga National Park.
The Assam government has also decided to engage the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe rhino killings of the last three years.
The government has also decided to deploy the army and paramilitary forces in areas adjoining to the national park, particularly in Karbi Anglong district, to stop the poachers from attempting to kill rhinos.
“We are working on it – SWCCB. I am going to instruct officials to seek help from international organisations,” Gogoi said.
He said the involvement of locals was a must for conservation efforts.
He said that if needed, the government can go for an Animal Defence Party in the lines of Village Defence Parties in Assam.
Gogoi also expressed concern over the third wave of devastating floods in the state in September which left 32 people dead. He welcomed the proposal to set up a Brahmaputra River Valley Authority (BRVA).
“This is the need of the hour… to control and contain the floods and erosion problem of Assam. We have supported the move to create a North East Water Resource Authority (NEWRA).
However, Arunachal Pradesh has opposed this.
“To contain a mighty river like Brahmaputra, we need the support of all northeastern states and also neighbouring countries like Bhutan, China and Bangladesh,” he said. (Agencies)