More flood woes this year, warns Dispur

Centre yet to release thousands of crores for flood works, claims Basanta Das

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, March3: Citing idequate fund flow from the Central government due to which the State is "uble" to take up flood magement schemes, the Assam government today cautioned that devastation could be more if floods hit the State this year.

Water Resources minister Basanta Das said the State government had sent 66 proposals (flood magement schemes) worth Rs 10,049 crore to the Central government for approval in the year 2014-15, but not a single scheme was sanctioned.

The State government had also sought Rs 1,231 crore for various flood magement projects in the same year, but only Rs 15.2 crore was released, Das said.

"Similarly, in the year 2015-16, we had sought Rs 1,231 crore, but the Centre released only Rs 19.9 crore. In all, the Central government is yet to release Rs 1,200 crore pertaining to projects sanctioned under the 11th and 12th Plan," he claimed.

Das said Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi had been taking up the issue with the Central ministers time and again, but there has been no response from the Central government.

"Instead, they pass the buck to the Niti Aayog and Fince ministry and ask us to get the allocation from them," Das said.

The minister produced a letter written by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to Union Water Resources minister Uma Bharti, requesting her to intervene for release of the outstanding amounts of Central share against the flood magement programmes and sanction of new schemes.

"Under the 11th Plan, 100 schemes were sanctioned and they have been completed. However, though the State government has already released its share , the Central share amounting to Rs 237 crore against these schemes is yet to be released," Gogoi said in his letter dated February 23.

Gogoi also claimed in the letter that the State is yet to get Rs 1,016 crore of Central share against flood magement schemes sanctioned under the 12th Plan.