NEW DELHI: Taking forward NDA government’s river-interlinking project, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti is scheduled to hold meetings with chief ministers and senior officers of seven North-Eastern states, Sikkim and West Bengal on interlinking of rivers in the region.
Bharti, who is visiting North-East states, has already met Sikkim Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.
She will be chairing the Seventh High Powered Review of Bramhaputra & Barak Board Meeting at Shillong, Meghalaya on Wednesday.
Bharti has told the chief ministers that the centre wants to utilise the water resources in the North-Eeast for the country’s benefit and has started reviewing the condition of the rivers. She also mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policy is to ensure that political differences do not stand in the way of development.
The meeting will discuss the restructuring and reshaping of Bramhputra- Barak Management Board, cutting of embankments by rivers in the north eastern region, importance of anti-erosion and flood management along the course of Brahmaputra , river linking and speedy implementation of all the water resources related projects in the North-East.
The demand to declare Majuli near Jorhat as “Water Heritage Island” and develop it in an integrated manner will also be deliberated upon. The NDA government has put projects in North-East on priority and one union minister will now have to visit one of the states in the region every fortnight.