Guwahati, June 20: The 85th meeting of the Brahmaputra Board was held in Guwahati on Friday under the chairmanship of Dr. Ranbir Singh, with key representatives from Central and state governments in attendance. The meeting focused on reviewing the progress of ongoing projects and launching new strategic initiatives for integrated water resource management in the Brahmaputra and Barak river basins.
One of the key decisions of the meeting was the formalization of a collaboration with IIT Guwahati for a scientific study on riverbank erosion in the Brahmaputra basin. The study aims to identify vulnerable stretches and recommend mitigation strategies based on scientific risk assessment and geospatial data.
The Board also approved the redevelopment of its headquarters in Guwahati. The ₹242.17 crore project, submitted by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), will include modern, sustainable office and residential infrastructure.
Departments from participating states were asked to submit updated status reports on the implementation of their respective river basin master plans, which will be used to evaluate the real-world effectiveness of current strategies.
In addition, the Board gave the green light to several new projects including feasibility study for addressing urban flooding in Dimapur, Nagaland, a feasibility study for the Lamlai irrigation project in Manipur and the preparation of a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for two spring shed clusters in the Gorkhaland Territorial Area, West Bengal.
The meeting also acknowledged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on June 19 with the Surveyor General of India, aimed at enhancing cooperation on geospatial data, survey capacity building, and technical integration across the Brahmaputra and Barak systems.
Chairman Dr. Singh stressed the importance of timely execution of all projects and urged the participating states to depute more technical staff to overcome current manpower shortages. He reiterated the Board’s commitment to inter-agency cooperation and sustainable river basin management across the northeast.
