GUWAHATI, June 5: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the Supreme Court has taken cognisance of Guwahati’s perennial flood problem and issued notices in this regard to the governments of Assam, Meghalaya and also to the apex court’s empowered committee.
“The Supreme Court has taken cognisance of the matter, and a person had filed a case in the apex court in regard to the possible role of University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM) in aggravating Guwahati’s flood problem. The court has issued notices to Assam, Meghalaya and also to the Supreme Court empowered committee. So, I hope that the empowered committee will come to both the states to conduct a judicial inquiry,” Sarma told reporters.
“We have been trying hard since a long time in regard to the conduct of this inquiry. Now, we can move ahead in this regard, and the Meghalaya government has promised to cooperate with us and work together. So, I believe that the situation will improve in the next two to three years,” he said.
Both the state governments had during the chief ministerial-level meeting here on June 2 decided to approach the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) for preparation of comprehensive satellite images of vulnerable areas such as Khanapara, Bahini, Juripar and Jorabat to help resolve the flood problem.
“We will approach NESAC for preparation of comprehensive satellite images within three months. Thereafter, the two states will approach IIT-Roorkee for suggestions on joint actionable work on the ground to help resolve the problem,” Sarma had said after the chief minister-level meeting.
“The government of Meghalaya is also of the opinion that the Guwahati flood issue should be resolved but it has requested that the interests of Meghalaya should also be protected,” Sarma said.
