GUWAHATI, March 6 - The State Government has sanctioned an amount of Rs 200 crore, and out of this, it has released an amount of Rs 100 crore, for the ambitious Brahmaputra riverfront beautification project of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), which is estimated to cost a whopping Rs 2,000 crore.
GMDA Chairman Dhiren Barua told this correspondent that the detailed project report (DPR) of the project is being prepared by the IIT Roorkee�s Institute of Hydrology and it is expected to be complete by the next three months.
The project is aimed at beautifying the entire Brahmaputra riverfront from the Nilachal (Kamakhya) Hill to Sukreswarghat. The GMDA has sought docks for keeping together the vessels operating on the Brahmaputra, so that the overall beauty of the riverfront could be kept undisturbed, Barua said.
The enviable sunset scene of the Guwahati riverfront is a natural heritage of this historic city and this should be made widely visible for the people by the steps like the above one, he said, adding, efforts are also being made to develop tourist spots on the Brahmaputra, besides, developing the city riverfront as an attractive tourist destination.
Barua said that a 4-foot-7-inch wall would be built along the riverfront in the mentioned stretch, keeping safety of the viewers in mind.
Housing project: The State government has allotted a plot of 20 bighas of land near the Saraighat Bridge inside the city area to the GMDA for a housing project. The project will take five years for completion and the GMDA is committed to completing it by 2022, Barua said.
Land pooling: The GMDA has set up a land pooling committee with its Chairman as the chief advisor. The committee was approved on February 16, 2016.
Disclosing this, Barua said that around 250 families of Bijaynagar area, on the outskirts of the city, came forward with the proposal to give around 500 bighas of land to the GMDA for a housing scheme at the rate of Rs 14 lakh per bigha. The survey for acquiring this land is on, he said.
It needs mention here that the land pooling system has become a part of modern urban development planning. It provides scope for developing small plots of land, by joining them with other similar-sized or bigger-sized plots of land, for the purpose of infrastructure development.
Statues: The GMDA has already installed two statues, one of Asamkeshari Ambikagiri Roychoudhury and the other of former chief minister Mahendra Mohan Choudhury.
It is installing three more statues, one each of Netaji Subhash Bose, noted freedom fighter Mohammad Tayebullah and noted politician and writer Hem Barua. These statues are expected to be unveiled at Khanapara within the next two to three months. Each of these statues will cost the GMDA Rs 15 lakh, Barua said.
