[Assam] Brahmaputra Valley Authority -We may have our own later.

Wed Jan 3 00:18:55 EST 2007

I want to clarify that, my initial proposal for setting up Brahmaputra valley authority is not an out come of any kind of chauvinist mindset of mine. It was a very technical institutional developmental for the harnessing vast resources of the north eastern waters for a greater common good. In my all writing, it is reflected, where I always emphasis community stake holding for any developmental projects.
  Therefore, I oppose MC Mahanta’s statement where he argues that creation of “Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya" are themselves acts of treachery by Delhi on the natural rights of the Assamese Nation and their properties and rights. 
  My reservation is that there is nothing called “Assamese nation” and therefore, they don’t have any legitimate rights over the properties.
  In my understanding Mahanta don’t have any knowledge what is called a nation and before that he have very utopian idea of Assamese as a nationality without acknowledging its constituents.
  Looking back and analysis the past history anyone can realised why Assam was divided.
  Why so many student organisation was created, several literary association was formed and try to established their own identity on the basic of their language, traditional culture etc. Whom we can say Assamese, a few lakh people whom majority of them are Ahoms, Mishing, Bodo, and even neo Assamese. If we talk Assamese, we have to give respect to those original inhabitants of the Brahmaputra valley.  Assam written history of 1500 years identified that first migration to this land was Ahom, followed by Bengalis (both Muslim and Brahmin), tea garden tribal people, and later people from East Pakistan and Bangaldesh. Present Assam constitutes all these people along with original inhabitant of Bodo, Mishing, Karbi, Dimasha, etc. Denying their original right over their resources is raising question of separation and self determination from Assamese dominated Dispur.
  If we look background of these entire organisations, claiming separate identity, autonomous council and finally a state, we have to blame a section of Assamese dominated my upper middle class Brahmin who in last 100 years did not allowed these tribal communities to recognize their own identity. Fall of these we are facing present political, social as well as economic rights over their ownership. In 2006, when new state government of Assam was formed with the support of Bodo MLA, many of Assam intellectual seen it changing future domination of tribal politics in the state.
  Post 90’s ULFA’s downfall also could be lined with this Assamese chauvinism. Many small outfits were emerged claiming their own sovereignty from the state as well as central government for claiming ownership of their resources. Because of this reason during last fifteen years ULFA is also loosing their cadre from these communities and losing their hold in their respective majority areas. Where these communities own outfit is taking over.
  Therefore, while harnessing vast resources, we have to fight with New Delhi that Karbi Anglong should get maximum benefit instead of Guwahati so near future a Karbi organisation need not worry for their own Independent state. Therefore Dispur need to be much more concern for harnessing these resources for benefit of those living in the Karbi Anglong as the district have lowest per capita income in the state (see Assam Human Development report, 2003) 
  Every time no need to blame who are sitting far away. We know that how many so called upper class Assamese are concern so called tribal people. We always keep them as they are melacha just because of we are representing upper caste. This is very narrow sense of chauvinism. 
  Gagang Apang knows this mindset of Assamese and so he is very cautious about the future of North Eastern Water Resources Authority (NEWRA) and not letting Assamese dominated Brahmaputra Valley authority or NEWRA. We have to learn where we done our great mistake. There is still time to correct it.
  Biswajeet Saikia

SANDIP DUTTA <pseude at yahoo.com> wrote:          who cannot survive without Assam's largesse - HUH???

  Assam's largeese had better be utilized for Assams own people - thats if and when the fat headed local politicians learn how to utilize central money!

  As for states like Meghalaya and Arunachal, they are better managed and hence more peaceful. Kudos to their local politicians. 

  As an example, see how Meghalaya proactively kicks out suspected foreigners right at Jorabat. 

  As for this seperatist rhetoric coming from ageing ideolouges, its easy to read the bluff just by seeing for oneself all around us.If we cannot share with even the rest of the seven sisters, how do we expect to share or receive ANYTHING with the rest of the country?

  Rgds

  ----- Original Message ----
From: mc mahant <mikemahant at hotmail.com>
To: biswajeetsaikia at yahoo.com
Cc: assam at assamnet.org
Sent: Monday, January 1, 2007 12:03:42 AM
Subject: Re: [Assam] Brahmaputra Valley Authority -We may have our own later.

      Assam must get full rights of all rivers  flowing through Assam --including catchments upto height of at least 300m above m.s.l.
  Creation of "Arunachal Pradesh.Nagaland, Meghalaya" ARE themselves acts of treachery by Delhi on the natural rights of the Assamese Nation and their properties and rights.
  Now by encouraging these little puppets -who cannot survive without Assam's largesse- to declare that all  their ongoing encroachments plus many more areas they will be demanding time to time from Assam- are actually theirs-- Delhi is deepening the loot on Assamese Nation in a heinous long-term plot.The first small step "AEDEO DUDEAO LOTA NIBOR SEEEAO" was with Kopili Hydro which was awarded to Delhi's very own NEEPCO.Second was the crime committed by converting invaluable Natural Gas to smoke and 25% efficiency  Conversion to Wastefully utilized Electricity at Duliajan/Kothalguri.Now the same butcher NEEPCO is groomed to ruin further(4th) through Tipaimukh in Manipur,Cachar,Sylhet. The Third was allowing Ranganadi, Lower Xubonxiri to NHPC.
  Adding insult to injury, Delhi is calling big money-bags to Delhi to have hush-hush deals to carve up all the water power  resources which are rightfully Assam's. In fact these water bodies all the way up totheir sources are ours.Crores of Rs. worth of advertisements were already printed to publicuize MOU's beteen Govts of Arunachal and Govt. of India(just before Hu Jin Thao's trip) for some 4500MW power projects.
  All acts of loot must be reversed and accumulated reparations extracted as part of the settlement .
  mm

---------------------------------

From:  biswajeet saikia <biswajeetsaikia at yahoo.com>
To:  northeastindia at yahoogroups.com, assam at assamnet.org,FriendsofAssamNE at yahoogroups.com, northeasttribune at yahoo.com,northeast-forum at yahoogroups.com, neforum at yahoogroups.com,neglectedindia at yahoogroups.com
Subject:  [Assam] Brahmaputra Valley Authority
Date:  Thu, 28 Dec 2006 22:47:30 -0800 (PST)

       Brahmaputra valley authority

  The repeated opposition of the state of Arunachal Pradesh for setting up North East Water Resources Authority (NEWRA) raises many questions on the part of the development of the north eastern region. The fundamental question is why we need an authority while we have the Brahmaputra Board. The Brahmaputra board is an advisory body set up under the ministry of Water resources for conducting survey as well as preliminary report for harnessing the vast water resources as well as the control of flood. How much the Brahmaputra board has achieved in last 30 years is a big question? On the line of the proposed preliminary report by the Brahmaputra board, there is a need to set up an authority (with financial, monitoring, execution right) to harness these vast water resources. Therefore, we need an institution for the integrated 
development of water resources in entire region including Sikkim. Also, in these past years, there are always grievances that the Brahmaputra Board is running with a chairman or an executive engineer with hydrological expertise. The proposed authority needs to careful about the requirement of the manpower available across the world for harnessing these resources. In a critical condition where there are many fold problems of harnessing these resources in the region, the appropriate manpower availability is the basic critical question along with community participation. [For more detail see Biswajeet Saikia, Harnessing the Brahmaputra and Disaster Management, Unpublished M. Phil dissertation, South Asia Centre, JNU, 2000. and Sanjay Hazarika and Biswajeet Saikia, Assam Development Report, Planning   
Commission, 2002.]   

     Although Government of India is planning to set up the proposed NEWRA under the ministry of Water resources, but there is a need to integrated the authority with the involvement of Ministry of Power, Ministry of Environment, all the state governments as well as the Ministry of DONER. The authority should have financial power to finance all projects related to water sector development for harnessing hydro electricity, irrigation, fishery as well as tourism.

     Looking the 10th FY plan expenditure, it is found that all 
the states are not able to spent allocated 10% fund for the development of the region which comes back to the respective ministry and diverted it to non lapsable pool fund of the ministry of DONER. Presently estimating total available fund under the Non Lapsable fund at the ministry is around 5000 crore, which could be again diverted to the states buy the equity of these proposed Power projects. As Arunachal Government is requesting Planning Commission to allocate special fund to buy the equity in these power project at 11%, the other state should also raise their voices to claim their share for an equitable equity share in these power projects. Therefore, recently I am suggesting setting up North East Water and Power Finance Corporation (NEWPFCO) for claiming appropriate stake in the power projects in the region through investing from non lapsable pool money for each state. [See Biswajeet Saikia, Power Projects and Economic Development of North Eastern India, ORF Energy
 News Monitor, Volume III, Issue 26, 13 – 19 December 2006.]   

     Unless these project are not set up after a common consensus of all the states in the region, many problems could be rise. Among them, corridor rights over the Assam from the power transmission from the projects in the Arunachal Pradesh, transportation of the goods for the construction of the huge infrastructure, loss of the agriculture land due to submersion of the vast land, low availability of the lean season water in the lower riparian region etc. The state of 
Assam particularly needs to raise these issues before coming to an agreement with Arunachal Pradesh as well Ministry of Water Resources.   

     Biswajeet Saikia
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