Assam Governor Constitutes High-Powered Committee To Enhance Irrigation For Cash Crops

GUWAHATI: In a significant move to bolster agricultural productivity in Assam, a High-Powered Committee aimed at enhancing the cropped area under irrigation has been established. The committee will be chaired by Syedain Abbasi, IAS, who serves as the Special Chief Secretary to the Government of Assam for Public Health Engineering, Water Resources, and Irrigation Departments, as well as the Resident Representative of the Government of Assam in New Delhi.

The committee comprises several key members, including Virendra Mittal, IAS, Commissioner & Secretary to the Finance and General Administration Departments; Pabitra Ram Khaund, IAS, Secretary to the Irrigation Department; Kailash Karthik N, IAS, Director of Land Records & Survey, Jeevan B., IAS, Secretary to the Chief Minister and Chief Executive Officer of FREMAA; Narendra Kumar Shah, IAS, District Commissioner of Nagaon and Dibakar Nath, IAS - District Commissioner of Dhubri.

The mandate of the committee is to carry out a detailed SWOT analysis of the current irrigation systems in Assam and analyze successful models of irrigation in states such as Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha. It will also look into global best practices in large-scale and micro-irrigation systems and latest technologies being adopted by start-ups across the globe.

Major goals also involve suggesting structural changes in the irrigation sector, assessing the use of consultants for capacity building, and drafting a comprehensive Externally Aided Project (EAP) proposal. The committee will take views from stakeholders, such as farmers and agri-tech innovators, and will emphasize the irrigation requirements of high-value crops while considering the utilization of satellite data and GIS technology for efficient irrigation management.

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