SHILLONG: A permanent solution to the perennial problem of floods still eludes the plains of Garo Hills.
Year after year, floods continue to wreak havoc in the plains, triggering large-scale destruction of life and property even as the government provides relief to the residents.
Flagging the issue, Opposition MLA from Rajabala, Azad Zaman, has demanded the resuscitation of the Rongai Valley medium irrigation project in Chibinang, which has remained a non-starter for decades.
“Every year during floods, the government spends crores of rupees in distributing relief. But residents want a permanent solution to the problem of floods, which can be largely resolved with the revival of the Rongai Valley irrigation project,” Zaman told reporters here on Tuesday.
Under the project, there are plans to develop several embankments in the area which would reduce the destruction caused by floods.
“I have already apprised the chief minister of erosion in the area and have even shot off letters to the Prime Minister and other central agencies on the matter,” he said.
Stating that large areas of crops are being affected by floods every year, the Rajabala legislator asserted that the government has not properly focused on the problem in the plain-belt areas.
“The government should have addressed the problem in the area a long time back,” he added.
The Rongai Valley medium irrigation project in Chibinang has, for over a decade, remained embroiled in controversy over issues of payment to contractors and payment for land acquisition.
The project was sanctioned in 1990 by the Planning Commission at a cost of Rs 16.30 lakh.
Deputy chief minister and in-charge, PWD, Prestone Tynsong had, during a visit to Chibinang in 2018, promised to revive the project.