Prof. Chandan Mahanta, India’s water specialist on the Brahmaputra river basin who heads the Centre for Environment at IIT Guwahati, believes the ministry of water resources (MWR) must set up the Brahmaputra River Valley Authority (BRVA) at the earliest.
Mr Mahanta pointed out that with China building four dams on the Brahmaputra, it was imperative for the Brahmaputra River Valley Authority to undertake a comprehensive study of the Brahmaputra basin.
“There is no clarity about the nature of dams being constructed by the Chinese who claim they are building run-of-the-river dams. The Indian government is going by that assurance but the people in Assam have serious doubts about the Chinese plans,” said Mr Mahanta.
“It is time therefore for a BRVA to undertake a good scientific investigation about both the lean flows of the river and how the dam construction by the Chinese will affect the river. We feel that once the dams are in place, the Brahmaputra will become a seasonal river causing water scarcity in our region,” he said.
“Such an apprehension is being expressed by people throughout Asia who want to know just how much water the Chinese plan to divert,” he said demanding that a bilateral collaborative study between the two countries will help allay these fears. Mr Mahanta expresses concern that “no flood mitigation measures are in place and as a result the excess water in the river is not contained in any reservoir. This is in contrast to the river Ganga which has several reservoirs being used to irrigate canals.” The MRW has sough feedback of the chief ministers of seven north eastern states on the draft proposal to restructure the Brahmaputra Board and replace it with the Brahmaputra River Valley Authority.