Development / Assam

GUWAHATI, April 25 — The draft forest policy of the State has been prepared with an aim at tackling the issues concerning people’s need and conservation of forests. The State Government will examine the draft for preparing the forest policy in order to meet the challenges throw by the present situation on matters related to conservation of forests and sustainable development. Addressing a brief function held on the occasion of release of the draft policy at the Jawahar Nagar Guest House No 1 this morning, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that the draft was prepared by an expert committee as a...

NEW DELHI, April 23 — Even as the North Eastern States reel under severe power cuts, at least 18 hydropower projects with an installed capacity of 25,890 MW in the Brahmaputra and Barak River basins are still on papers, mired in bureaucratic wrangles at the Centre. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Power, Jayawanti Mehta said that present detailed project reports are being prepared for the 18 hydropower projects. Out of these, five projects with an aggregate capacity of 359 MW are ongoing schemes. Besides, Central Electricity Authority has cleared four hydropower...

NEW DELHI, April 22 — The nightmare of eviction drives on the forest land in the State may come back to haunt Assam Government, with the Union Environment and Forest Ministry putting its foot down on encroachment of forestland, even as the State’s is ranked eighth in the country in term of forest cover, which was estimated at 35.33 per cent. With the Supreme Court keeping a close watch on the issue, Union Environment and Forest Minister, TR Baalu today clarified that eviction drives to remove the unlawful people away from the forest land has to continue. The Minister, however, added that...

GUWAHATI, April 19 — The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has identified various irregularities in the Flood Control Department and recommended that the ongoing scheme should be completed on priority basis before taking up new schemes. The CAG, in its report pointed out that out of 25 schemes recommended by the Planning Commission between 1998-99 to 2001-02, to be funded under the non-lapsable central pool of resources, only four could be completed due to the delay in release of fund to the executing department. The report revealed in 1998, the committee for funding of schemes...

KOKRAJHAR, April 18— About 3250 families, residing in relief camps since the outbreak of ethnic riots in Kokrajhar, have been recently sent back home under a rehabilitation package by the Kokrajhar district administration. Their rehabilitation has been made possible after the release of Rs 3 crore in February. So far, about 5,100 families have been rehabilitated. According to Kokrajhar deputy commissioner Dr Ashish K Bhutani, the recently rehabilitated families have been drawn from the Sapkata, Dorogaon, Patgaon, and Sonapur relief camps. The rehabilitation process was completed in the first...

DIMAPUR, April 10— In a step ahead of the Centre’s commitment to extend the Railway network to the nook and corner of the country, with special emphasis to connect all the capitals of the Northeastern states, the Northeast Frontier Railway’s General Manager has disclosed that the survey work of the new Jiribam-Imphal railway line was already completed and the Rs 1000 crore project is in the final stage of getting sanction from the Railway Board.

“General Manager of the NFR, Vipan Nanda while interacting with media persons in Kohima informed that the survey of the proposed Diphu-Karong...

JORHAT, April 16 — Taking a cue from the mutually beneficial experience of several State Governments following constitution of eco-development committees in villages located at fringe areas of national parks and sanctuaries, the authorities at the Kaziranga National Park too have followed forth and submitted a proposal to the Government for setting up a ‘forest development agency,’ which could pave the way for better coordination with villagers living around the periphery of the 860-sq km park.

With a number of eco-development committees already having taken shape in fringe villages under the...

MIRZA, April 10 — The blacksmiths of Palashbari constituency whose smithies (workshops) — which are a legacy of their ancestors spanning more than one hundred years are a frustrated lot nowadays. The trade which earns them two spartan meals a day is a laborious one and no longer a paying one. Cutlers predominate the Amranga Medhipara area of Boridhat. Their ironworks include knives, cleavers, ploughs and tools of carpentry except saw. Selling them in the market sometimes for a song they get a paltry amount by which they can hardly maintain their families.

“Time was when a bagful of essential...

NEW DELHI, April 10— The 2000 MW Subansiri Lower Hydro Electric Power Project is scheduled to be completed within seven years of procuring investment approval. The National Hydro Electric Power Corporation (NHPC) is currently looking for investment approval. The Project estimated to cost Rs 6,608.68 crore is to be located near North Lakhimpur on Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The Project received techno-economic clearance by Central Electricity Authority on January 31. However, environment and forest clearance is awaited, Minister of State for Power, Jayawanti Mehta said.

BADARPUR, April 9 – “The BG construction work of Silchar-Badarpur-Lumding hill section of the Northeast Frontier Railway will be completed within the year 2007, positively. Although this hill section is beset with insurgency problems, the BG construction work of the Lumding-Badarpur hill section is going on in full swing at present. There is no problem of money for this work. This year in the Budget, Rs 75 crore has been sanctioned for the BG implementation,” stated NF Railway general manager (GM) Vipen Nanda here while he was talking with the newspersons at Badarpur Railway Station after...