Assam receives wetland, Guwahati flood plan as part of Centre initiative

Guwahati: A committee chaired by Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah has cleared a series of disaster mitigation, recovery and reconstruction projects worth ?4,645.60 crore, benefiting nine states, including Assam.

The decision is in the wake of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of building a disaster-resilient India.

The panel including Union Finance Minister, Agriculture Minister and Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog, considered proposals for financial support under the National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF).

As far as Assam is concerned, “the HLC approved a wetlands restoration and rejuvenation plan worth ?692.05 crore, aimed at enhancing water retention, creating flood storage, improving resilience, and protecting aquatic ecosystems. The project, covering 24 wetlands across nine districts along the Brahmaputra system, will be taken up as a pilot initiative toward building a “flood-proof Brahmaputra Valley.” Of the total cost, ?519.04 crore will come from the Centre, while ?173.01 crore will be borne by the state.”

In addition, the pane; cleared the Urban Flood Risk Management Programme (UFRMP) Phase-2 for 11 cities, including Guwahati, with a total outlay of ?2,444.42 crore. The scheme will be funded in a 90:10 ratio between the Centre and states.

So far as Guwahati goes, a dedicated flood mitigation project worth ?200 crore was sanctioned, with ?180 crore from the Centre. It will include structural measures like interlinking of water bodies, stormwater management, flood protection walls, erosion control using nature-based solutions, and non-structural interventions such as flood early warning systems, data monitoring, and capacity building.

The panel also sanctioned Rs 1,270.78 crore to Assam and ?260.56 crore to Kerala for recovery and reconstruction after the devastating 2022 floods and landslides, and the 2024 Wayanad landslide respectively.