EZC meet: State raises Farakka barrage issue, seeks solution

PATNA: The issue of siltation in Farakka barrage across the Ganga river in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district came up for discussion at the 13th meeting of the standing committee of the Eastern Zonal Council here on Saturday.
Officials from Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand and the central government attended the meeting.
At the meeting chaired by Bihar chief secretary Amir Subhani, the officials representing the state raised concern over the problem of siltation not only in Farakka barrage but also various rivers in Bihar.
They called for formulation of a policy at the national level to address the issue.
“The construction of Farakka barrage has badly affected the flow of the Ganga in Bihar. The Centre should formulate a policy considering a wide range of issues, including environmental ones,” a senior official told TOI. According to him, the Centre has prepared a draft of this policy and sought comments from all stakeholders.
The Bihar government has constantly raised this issue in the past. Recently, CM Nitish Kumar had urged the central government to remove the Farakka barrage in West Bengal and make a countrywide policy on silt management for letting river Ganga to flow freely.
The other issues which came up for discussion at the meeting included direct benefit transfer, setting up of fast track special court, construction of Indrapuri Reservoir Project, acquisition of land for the proposed new B G line between Daniyawa and Shiekhpura, and auction of mineral blocks.
Bifurcation of assets and liabilities of the Bihar State Construction Corporation Ltd between Bihar and Jharkhand, establishment of District Mineral Foundation, implementation of national transit pass system, implementation of activity mapping by the states and release of funds under Special Plan of Backward Region Grant Fund were also discussed.
Following the approval of the action taken report on the decisions taken by the Eastern Zonal Council in the 25th meeting held in Kolkata on December 17 last year, the standing committee deliberated on 48 agenda.
Bihar was represented by Brajesh Mehrotra, additional chief secretary, revenue and land reforms, Chaitanya Prasad, additional chief secretary, water resource department, Dr S Siddhartha, additional chief secretary, home department and Sandeep Paundrik, additional chief secretary, industry department.
Good practice from Bihar was shortlisted for presentation before the Eastern Zonal Council meeting. K S Anupam, special secretary, home department, Bihar, proposed a vote of thanks.
He assured the dignitaries that the state government would continue to adopt a positive mindset towards negotiations and run that extra mile to protect the interests of the people of the state.