Centre may restructure Brahmaputra Board

Against the backdrop of frequent floods in Assam and allegation of its failure to deal with the situation, the Centre plans to restructure the Brahmaputra Board and turn it into a body to develop and manage water resources of the entire northeastern region.
At a high-level meeting attended by Union ministers from the northeast and Minister for Department of North-East Region V K Singh, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said the Centre plans to set up a new body to manage water resources in the region.
Besides Bharti and Singh, the meeting was attended by MoS Sports Sarbananda Sonwal and MoS Home Kiren Rijiju.

The Water Resources Ministry has already sought feedback from chief ministers of the seven northeastern states on the draft proposal to restructure the Board set up 32 years ago.
Government may bring in a new legislation to transform the Brahmaputra Board into the Brahmaputra River Valley Authority and replace the current Brahmaputra Board Act, 1980.
"A review of the functioning of the Brahmaputra Board reveals that it did not have a mandate to provide a strong framework for the holistic development of the Brahmaputra river," the draft said.
According to the draft, the proposed Authority will be mandated to coordinate development and management of water, land and related sources to maximise economic and social welfare without compromising with the ecosystem of the Brahmaputra Valley.