Guwahati, Oct 7: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday underlined the need for a long-term plan to combat the annual problem of floods in Assam besides exploring concrete measures to enhance the water holding capacity of wetlands in the state.
Shah, who is on a three-day visit to Assam, emphasised that if Assam was to develop further and attract significant private investment, then protection from floods was imperative.
Chairing a meeting to explore ways to make the state ‘flood-free, the Union home minister stressed on the need for Assam to devise a concrete action plan to protect and rejuvenate the wetlands in the state and increase their holding capacity so that they can also act as storage reservoirs during floods.
He emphasised that Assam must take all steps in this regard, including enacting a law for protection of reservoirs and a mechanism for enforcement of the same.
Shah also said that a meeting with the ministries of Jal Shakti, power and the state government will soon be convened to look at measures to include more flood moderation storage reservoirs along with hydro projects in Arunachal Pradesh to mitigate floods in the state.
In regard to developing the capacity of the state water resources department and Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), Shah said that apart from utilising the services of North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), with which the state government has entered into an MoU for developing flood forecasting and early warning systems, the state and NESAC should also look at involving the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in capacity building of state agencies as well.
Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and senior government officials attended the meeting chaired by Shah at the State Guest House at Koinadhora.
