GUWAAHTI, Dec 15 � The State Government is taking up several long-term measures to rid the city of its perennial problem of water-logging and flash flood.
Stating this in the Assembly today while replying to a question by Phani Bhushan Choudhury (AGP), Guwahati Development Department Minister Ajanta Neog said that for the purpose a scientific study of the hill areas and watersheds of the city was being conducted by IIT Guwahati.
In addition, a consultancy firm is engaged with a comprehensive storm-water drainage plan under which an integrated drainage would come up under the supervision of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Agency (GMDA). An amount of Rs 5 crore has been earmarked as consultancy cost, of which Rs 1.5 crore is to be released this financial year
The IIT study team has already made some recommendations on the basis of which a pilot project is to be started soon. An implementing committee has also been formed by the State Government and it has entrusted the Assam State Disaster Management Authority with the responsibility of executing the project.
The main objective of the pilot project is to facilitate an integrated development of the city�s hilly areas together with watershed management.
An amount of Rs 4.1 crore has been prioritized for the project within the current financial year, of which Rs 40 lakh is to be released immediately, Neog said.
The integrated drainage project would have separate arrangements for storm-water and sewage besides removal of solid waste from storm-water drains through litter trap and catch-pit trap.
To divert the storm-water from the Meghalaya side to the Brahmaputra, a canal would be put in place parallel to NH-37. Similarly, another drain would be developed from Noonmati to Bondajan.