Over 8-hour discussion on Water Resources Dept in Assam assembly

Guwahati, Aug 13: The Assam Assembly has spent around nine hours discussing various issues of the Water Resources Department over the last three days.

The discussion on a cut motion on grants for the department for 2016-17 had started on Wednesday which ended on Friday with minister Keshab Mahanta's reply just before the Budget was passed.

Water Resources was the only ministry that came up for discussion during the period due to paucity of time.

Thirty-three of the 126 MLAs took part in the discussion that lasted for close to eight hours. It was followed by Mahanta's reply which lasted for another hour.

The minister, acknowleding the gravity of the flood and erosion problems, said the state government would chalk out "new" strategies to deal with them.

He said the on-field embankment repair and construction works would commence from November instead of February-March.

He also said the elected representatives would be assigned "more active" roles in monitoring the activities of the department in their constituencies.

The minister also voiced support to a proposal for sending two teams of MLAs and experts to countries which have effectively tamed rivers to use them in a constructive way.

PTI