(a) whether the Government has constituted a high-level committee for proper management of the water resources in the North Eastern Region (NER) to facilitate optimising benefits of appropriate water management in the form of hydro-electric power, agriculture, bio-diversity, conservation, reduced flood damage erosion, inland water transport, forestry, fishery and eco-tourism;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the outcome and the action taken in this regard?
The Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region
[Dr. Jitendra Singh]
(a) to (c) Yes, Madam. A High Level Committee for Proper Management of Water Resources in the North Eastern Region has been constituted with the following Terms of Reference:-
i) Appraisal of existing mechanism/institutional arrangements for management of water resources of the North Eastern Region.
ii) Identification of gaps in the existing mechanism/institutional arrangements for optimum management of water resources of the North Eastern Region.
iii) Suggest policy interventions required for optimally harnessing the water resources for accelerating development in the North Eastern Region.
iv) Spelling out of actionable measures required for optimizing the management of water resources in the North East.
v) Chalking out a Plan of Action for dovetailing of schemes/programmes of concerned Union Ministries, their attached offices & autonomous bodies as well as the schemes of the respective North Eastern State Governments.
The High Level Committee has finalised the draft report on the basis of inputs of specifically constituted Expert Committee and extensive deliberations among the members on all issues pertaining to water resources in the North Eastern Region.