NEW DELHI, Feb 7 – The eight States of the Northeastern region (NER) have witnessed loss of green cover to the extent of 549 square km. Assam has lost 19 square km of forest cover. Painting a dismal picture of the forest cover in the North East, the India State of Forest Report 2011 released on Tuesday by Union Environment and Forest Secretary Dr P Chatterjee said the main reasons for the decrease is attributed to the biotic pressure and shifting cultivation in the region.

NEW DELHI, Feb 7 – Dismayed over the delay in establishing the proposed North East Water Resources Authority (NEWRA), Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi on Tuesday urged the Centre to revive the plans to revamp the ailing Brahmaputra Board. After waiting in vain for the ambitious project to take off, which incidentally was Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s brainchild, the Chief Minister has all but given up.

India's forest cover shrank by 367sq km with the maximum 80 per cent loss recorded in Andhra Pradesh mainly due to Naxals felling trees in Warangal and Khammam districts, according to a new survey released on Tuesday.

Forest and tree cover of the country as per the biennial assessment report released by the Forest Survey of India (FSI) is 78.29 million hectares, which is 23.81 per cent of the geographical area. This includes 2.76 per cent tree cover.

Arunachal Pradesh has informed the Centre that downstream impacts can be studied during construction of the 1,750MW Lower Demwe project which should be cleared as it will not affect Dibru-Saikhowa National Park in Dibrugarh district of Assam. “The downstream impacts are limited to a few months of the lean season and will be confined to low-lying flood plains in the Brahmaputra basin. These impacts can always be studied during construction of the project.

Guwahati, Feb. 5: The Union power ministry has called a meeting on Wednesday in Delhi to break the impasse over the 2,000-MW Lower Subansiri hydroelectric project. There has been no work at the project site since December 16 — the longest halt to the project — thanks to the continuing agitation in Assam by the anti-dam brigade led by the Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti.

“The revenue loss in terms of delay per day is Rs 6 crore, apart from claims of contractors and additional establishment and warehouse expenditure,” a top NHPC official told The Telegraph.

The throb of the Subansiri valley will stop on the day when practically no water will be released by NHPC except in the peak period of the evening, and for all the winter months to come, the river, which is entwined in the lives of the people, which gives them sustenance, their rich culture and lifestyle, will die on that day for ever, along with the dolphins, fish and ecology of the river. This certainly is one of the most disturbing and important aspects of the Lower Subansiri Hydro-electric Project (LSHP)in the present form.

State-owned NTPC Ltd has wrapped up the pre-feasibility report for a proposed 9,750 MW Siang Upper hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh. It is moving fast on the strategic project since India realises it is urgent to speed up building dams on the Brahmaputra and establish “lower riparian right”. This will help New Delhi create a strong bargaining position to detract China from building hydel projects on the upper reaches of the river.

Guwahati, Jan. 19: The Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti has rejected an IIT expert’s proposal to use a certain piano key weir technology for the Lower Subansiri power project, basing it rebuttal on its own research on the technology. Nayan Sarma, head of department of water resources in IIT Roorkee, had proposed use of the technology during a meeting with the state government, members of the expert groups and representatives of the civil society organisations on the Lower Subansiri project in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Assam Government has failed to pursue the Lower Subansiri project issue honestly. This is clear from the fact that while discussions are going on and the Group of Ministers gives an impression of its goodwill to examine the problem, it is repeatedly reiterating its commitment to build the dam — Akhil Gogoi

GUWAHATI: Erosion was a graver problem in Assam compared to floods as it resulted in permanent land loss and crippled a family”, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said on Wednesday.

“It is an area where much importance has to be accorded by the Central Government and the Brahmaputra Board”, Gogoi said at the 6th High Powered Review Board Meeting of Brahmaputra Board here.

He said over eight lakh people had been rendered homeless and over 4 lakh hectares washed away by Brahmaputra.