GUWAHATI, October 15: Union minister of state for water resources Bijoya Chakraborty today called for the Assam government's full cooperation for implementing the schemes of the Union government. Though money from the Union government is coming for implementing the schemes in an appreciably good manner, lack of initiatives on the part of the state government to utilise them in a befitting manner, has been discouraging the Union government's initiatives for the state, she alleged. She was talking to newspersons at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi Airport here this afternoon. Chakraborty, who was on her first visit to the state after assuming the charge as a Union minister, also alleged that the state government has not submitted any project concerning development of agriculture and tourism in the state. And, in many cases utilisation certificates of the Union government money are also not submitted by the state government. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 16, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 15: The government of India has selected Sualkuchi, the silk centre of Assam, to set up a 'rural cluster' under the National Progrmme for Rural Infrastructure and has directed the state government to submit a comprehensive project for the purpose. The state sericulture minister Ramendra Narayan Kalita today informed newspersons here that after the 'rural cluster is set up there, Sualkuchi is likely to become a model industrial village. He said that the state government was likely to submit the project as sought by the Centre within a short period. The project will be financed by the government of India. The minister said that the state government had identified sericulture as a priority sector for being a labour intensive and agro-based industry which provides engagement to over two lakh families in the state. The state government has submitted several projects for development of sericulture sector to the Union government for its approval. Out of these the government of India has cleared four projects to be implemented during Eighth and Ninth plan period. Mulberry action plan is being implemented in the state with an objective to produce additional 17.5 metric tonne (mt) of silk per year. The present requirement of silk in the state is about one lakh kg per year. The project period extends from 1994-95 to 1999-2000. At the end of the project period 4000 families will be directly benefited, who will raise 2000 acres of mulberry of HYV variety. The total cost of the project is Rs 133.01 lakh of which Rs 88.96 lakh is funded by the Central Silk Board and the balance Rs 44.05 lakh is to be shared by the state. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 16, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 17: Five days ago, when Bijoya Chakravarty, the BJP MP from Guwahati, while leaving for Delhi, was asked by journalists about her priorities as an MP from the state, she had said: "To find a lasting solution to the perennial flood problem of Assam." Now with Prime Minister Vajpayee appointing her as Minister of State for Water Resources, Chakravarty is in a piquant position: She will have to provide the much-needed solution to the state's most difficult issue. "I promise to implement the Pagladiya and Kulsi projects prepared by the Brahmaputra Board and will also impress upon the Prime Minister to release more funds to meet the challenge put up by the floods," she said, on her arrival back in the state capital yesterday. In fact, the state has been suffering on all fronts, mainly due to the floods, with the Brahmaputra and its tributaries taking away a major chunk of Assam's funds meant for other developmental projects. This is also thanks to the fact that the Centre does not give much money and whatever is released is in the form of loans. Assam's experience with the BJP-led government during the floods last year too is not very satisfactory. While Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta pleaded for Rs 500 crores, what the Centre gave was peanuts -- hardly Rs 40 crore. "Now that you are the minister for floods too, the state government expects that you impress upon the PM the need to rectify the system and provide us grants and not loans," is what the Chief Minister is understood to have told Chakravarty, when she called on the former here last evening. Chakravarty, incidentally, is an old colleague of Mahanta in the AGP and the regional party had sent her to the Rajya Sabha in 1986. On the completion of her term, however, the fire-brand lady quit the AGP and joined the BJP. That the Central Loan Assistance (CLA) for flood control, now in practice, is nothing but an eyewash can be gauged from the fact that while the total sanction during the eighth-plan period was Rs 100 crore, Assam got only Rs 31.69 crore, with the interest and principal getting deducted at source. And last year, when the flood damage was assessed by the state government at around Rs 500 crores, with massive damage caused to standing crops, Assam hardly got any worthwhile sum even after Vajpayee himself came to assess the situation. "It will be a litmus test for the Vajpayee government this time, now that an Assam MP has been made Minister of State for Water Resources. And going by our bitter experience of 1998, we cannot afford to be optimistic," said an AGP leader. State Flood Control Minister Pramod Gogoi, a senior CPI leader, on his part, is even more pessimistic about the Centre's attitude towards Assam floods. "The Centre's appreciation of the all-embracing nature of Assam's flood problem and its financial assistance is grossly inadequate. For example, for the purpose of prevention of flood and erosion, the Centre has been sanctioning loans but no grants," he said. Chakravarty, on her part, has already got down to serious business and one of the first things she did on assuming office in Delhi on Thursday was to pull up the Brahmaputra Board officials for their failure to expeditiously implement the various projects prepared by it. She had very strongly hit out at the AGP-led government for failing to tackle the flood problem during her poll campaigns. But, now that she herself is on the hot seat as floods are concerned, it will be interesting to watch her at work. (Samudra Gupta Kashyap; The Indian Express, New Delhi; October 18, 1999)

SHILLONG, October 15: Central Electricity Regulatory Commission chairman Prof SL Rao has expressed grave concern over the poor economic shape of the power sector especially in the generation and distribution business in the country. Rao told newspersons here on Wednesday last that the main reason for the poor performance of the power sector was the huge outstandings owed to them by various agencies including state governments. The huge outstandings has also severely affected maintenance of equipment ultimately resulting in damage to costly equipment, he observed. Citing the example of Northeast region, the CERC chief disclosed that Assam alone owed Rs 300 crore to the Northeastern Electric power Corporation (NEEPCO) against power bill during the last 18 months. Moreover, another Rs 120 crore is owed to NEEPCO by the rest of the Northeast states. Over and above this, the Northeast states together owed Rs 124 crore to the Powergrid on account of transmission charges for the last 18 months, Prof Rao said. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 18, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 21: Environment pollution caused by the cement factories located in the Umrangshu area in North Cachar Hills district is causing serious health hazard to the people located near the factories. The Assam Human Rights Commission has already taken up the matter on the basis of newspaper reports and directed the deputy Commissioner of the district to conduct an enquiry and submit a report on the health hazard caused by the cement factories. The Skylark Youth Club, a non-government organisation of NC Hills, has also taken up the matter seriously. The club, in a release, said that in spite of the precautions taken by the cement factories, the people living in the Umrangshu area are still facing serious health hazard due to the environment pollution caused by the factories. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 22, 1999)

NEW DELHI, October 21: In what can be described as a fresh step to break the deadlock over handing over of the ailing Bongaigaon Thermal power Station to US power giant, Ogden, the state power ministry has called a tripartite meeting with the US company and the Assam State Electricity Board on October 28. The latest initiative taken by the state power ministry came as the deadline set by the Ogden expires in December. The company had served in August last an ultimatum to the state government and threatened to take Assam government to court in London under the Arbitration and Reconciliation Act. Negotiations between the Ogden and the state government fell through following reluctance of Assam government to stand as guarantor for payment by the ASEB. In addition to the guarantee problem, the internal politics of the Board where a section of the employees have threatened to go on strike in the wake of handing over of the BTPS and stiff opposition by various Bodo movement leadership has made the US company see red. (Kalyan Barooah; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 22, 1999)

NEW DELHI, October 22: Newly-appointed Union minister of state for water resources Bijoya Chakraborty today directed the Central Water Commission (CWC) to work out a concrete plan to find a permanent solution to the flood and erosion problem of Majuli island. Addressing newspersons here today, Chakraborty said that she had requested the surface transport ministry to explore the possibility of reopening of river transport route between Dhubri-Jogighopa-Guwahati-Nematighat-Tezpur. Meanwhile a high-level inspection team of Brahmaputra Board assigned to go into the cause of recurring floods in Majuli island has drawn blank as the team of experts could not correlate the morphological changes in the Brahmaputra channel with the occurrence of the disastrous 1950 earthquake. The team, which has since submitted its finding, has reported to the CWC that from the site of the inspection it was not possible now to understand the affect of the great earthquake which occurred 50 years ago. It was also not possible from the site inspection to ascertain the affect of the braiding nature of the Lohit river on Majuli island as it is situated far down stream and the Lohit joins Dibang and the mighty Siang before reaching Mazuli. The team has suggested that for understanding the effect or the changes in discharge and silt load, a detailed study has to be carried out. The Brahmaputra Board has, meanwhile, ordered hydraulic model studies of Majuli island and preparation of a master plan for Majuli island. The inspection to study the effect of the 1950 earthquake on the Majuli island itself was ordered under interesting circumstances. (Kalyan Barooah; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 23, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 23: The city police has initiated a move to streamline the public transport system in Guwahati, which is in a total mess at present. The city police has already held meetings with the representatives of the associations of omni bus owners and the autorickshaws owners in a bid to improve the public transport system. This morning, the City Superintendent of Police, B J Mahanta held a meeting with the Auto Associations and representatives of the citizens committees in the Panbazar police station premises to streamline the auto operations. In the meeting the representatives of the citizens committees and the auto owners openly spoke about their problems, while the city SP assured that the police would soon launch a drive against the auto operators to streamline the movement of the autos and reduce the sufferings of the people. The most common complaints against the auto drivers include, the autos do not use the fare metres and they charge exorbitant rates from the commuters, the auto drivers only operate according to their whims and very often refuse to take passengers to certain areas of the city etc. Members of four auto rickshaw owners associations as well as the office bearers of the Greater Guwahati Auto Rickshaw Owners Coordination Committee attended the meeting. The auto owners admitted that there were some complaints against the auto drivers. They said that the basic aim of introducing the autos in the city was to provide employment opportunity to the unemployed youths and at the initial stages only the owners used to drive the vehicles. But it has now become a business and some persons have a number of autos and they engage drivers to drive the vehicles, which is one of the main reasons for the complaints against the autos. They also said that proper verification is not done by the office of the District Transport Officer before issuing licences. On the use of fare metres, the auto associations said that the rate of fare should be revised and the SP assured to take up the matter with the state government for necessary action. The meeting decided that the names of the owners of the autos as well as the registration number of the vehicle would be written clearly inside the front windscreen of the autos so that the passengers can lodge complaint if any immediately. The meeting also decided that the auto associations would issue identity cards to owners and drivers with the registration number of autos to avoid frequent change of drivers of a particular auto. This will also enable the police to take prompt action against those auto drivers who harass the commuters. The SP said that fines would be imposed against the auto drivers who refuse to take passengers. The rate of fine will be decided as per the nature of the complaint. He also said that the police would take members of the auto associations along with them during the special drive to be launched soon. On the complaint that the traffic policemen often harass the autos, Mahanta said that from now on, the police would not seize the papers of the autos who violate the rules but the vehicles would be seized. He said that the fines against the rule violators would be realised by police officers of the rank of inspector and above. But the traffic in charges of respective police stations would be allowed to collect fines, he added. The City SP also appealed to the public to cooperate with the police in their effort to streamline the public transport system in the city. Earlier yesterday, the City SP held meetings with the associations representing the omni bus owners and after the meetings, he issued a notification to streamline the movement of the omni buses in the city roads. As per the notification issued today, day and night omni buses, the owners of which do not have their own parking places, would not be allowed to enter the city and the counters without parking places would not be allowed to operate in the Paltanbazar area of the city. The movement of the buses from the authorised agencies would be curtailed during the peak hours from 5 pm to 6.30 pm during winter and from 6 pm to 7.30 pm during summer. The notification said that no ticket counter broker would be allowed to collect passengers. Mahanta also said that the city police has already taken steps to streamline the movement of mini buses and forced the owners to write the routes prominently on the buses to avoid route violations. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 24, 1999)

SHILLONG, October 23: The lucrative coal export trade to Bangladesh has remained disrupted since October 4 last as Bangladeshi importers are unwilling to buy coal measured by newly introduced weigh-bridges. Principal Secretary, Weights and Measures, S.K. Tiwari, said that the state government had issued directive on October 4 last requiring Bangladesh-bound export coal-trucks to be measured at the approved weight-bridge at Tamabil on the international border. "We fail to understand why the importers should be opposed to the weigh-bridge", he said on being asked about the reason for the objection by importers. Knowledgeable sources, however, said that the earlier system of measuring in cubic volume allowed for a lot of manipulation by the importer-exporter nexus. Against the legally permitted 10 metric tonnes of coal every coal-truck have been clandestinely carrying up to 18 metric tonnes, the sources claimed. As a result, the state government is losing a whopping amount on royalty calculated at the rate of Rs 120 per metric tonne as about five lakh tonnes of coal is exported to Bangladesh every year. The nation is also losing a huge amount in foreign exchange at the rate of 42 Dollars per metric tonne on the unaccounted volume of export. The sources expressed apprehensions that the "unaccounted" earnings could be used even to fund extremist organisations in the Northeastern Region. According to O Basaiawmoit, Director, Mineral Resources, the government's move to measure the export coal through weigh-bridges was to ensure that there is no leakage of revenue through 'excess' export. The state's efforts to plug loopholes has resulted in export revenue climbing to Rs 51 crore in 1989-99 as against only Rs 40 crore in the previous year though the amount exported remained the same. The official disclosed that over 200 coal-laden trucks are now stranded on the Jowai-Amlaram-Danki road as the importers have declined to accept coal passing through the weigh-bridge. The plea of the importers is that they did not have similar measuring facilities on their side of the international border. Senior state government officials here are not unduly worried over the ploy adopted by the Bangladeshi importers. "We will not cow down to their arm-twisting tactics", he said adding that bulk of the state's exports of four million metric tonnes go to the mainland. At present, about five lakh tonnes, representing one-eight of the state's total coal exports, go to Bangladesh. Sources revealed that the state government will install weigh-bridges also at Ghasuapara in Garo Hills and Borsora in West Khasi Hills which are two other major exports routes into Bangladesh next only to Dawki-Tamabil in Jaintia Hills. The powerful coal lobby in the state had till now stalled the long overdue installation of weigh-bridges. It was obvious that the government's plea of "shortage of funds" to justify the delay in setting up of weigh-bridges was only benefiting the coal lobby. The installation of a weigh-bridge would cost hardly Rs 20 lakh an expenditure that is easily recovered from the revenue generated. (Bedabrata Lahkar; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 24, 1999)

GOLAKGANJ, October 23: Saraha pok has infested several thousand hectares of paddy fields of Dhubri district in various places like Belguri, Agomoni, Majergaon, Kathaltali, Zinkata, Bhitarchar, Dharmashala, Adabari, Chagalchora, etc. Though this year floods did not create a problem, people are spending sleepless mights due to the black insects. Moreover, the cultivators of the entire Agomoni and Golakganj area of the district are also suffering from this menace. Though the Agricultural Department, Dhubri as well as the other departments did try to control the problem, they have not achieved the desired results. A large number of cultivators alleged that the Agricultural Department has not taken the matter seriously as a consequence the peasants face a bleak future. Though a cultivator may travel 40/50 km to the Dhubri district agriculture office with a view to getting information, employees are often absent, they alleged. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 24, 1999)

NEW DELHI, October 25: Union minister of state for Water Resources Bijoya Chakraborty today said that immediate steps would be taken to revamp the Brahmaputra Board. The minister said that the vacant posts of the Board would be filled up soon. Chakraborty today urged the Union Civil Aviation minister to give international airport status with cargo handling facility to the Lokapriya Gopinath Bardoloi Airport. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 26, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 25: The Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO) has come up in a major way in making available housing loans for state government employees in the Northeast. In Assam, a loan of Rs 100 crore to the state government has already been sanctioned by the corporation for the scheme with the state government acting as the enabler. Last year, a package worth Rs 350 crore was decided on to enable employees to avail loans for constructing dwelling units of their own through their respective state governments, the regional chief of HUDCO, PK Rajkhowa informed. Rs 50 crore have already been released to the Assam government in instalments. Work on the project started in January. Out of the released amount, Rs 35 crore was made available last year and the remaining Rs 15 crore was released this March. The Rs 50-crore loan was meant to facilitate the construction of 4000 dwelling units and was meant to be completed in nine months. Rajkhowa said that the state government has reported completion of 3,500 houses despite the slight delay. The response from the employees has also been encouraging, he said, as they are being financed on relatively easy terms. Another loan of Rs 50 crore has already been sanctioned by HUDCO though the amount has not been released as yet. It should benefit another 4,000 employees, he said. The HUDCO chief said that there is a heavy demand for housing loans among the state government employees. In Assam alone the demand backlog is for Rs 350 crore. With the state governments having very little resource of their own to provide adequate housing facilities for their employees, the HUDCO assistance has come as a major relief for the governments. Even the Meghalaya government has availed Rs 50 crore under a similar scheme. This amount will enable about 3900 units to be constructed in that state. Similar schemes are on the anvil in Nagaland and Mizoram and the Tripura government has also evinced interest, Rajkhowa informed. "The loan is not very special but the modus operandi is special," he said. HUDCO has earlier sanctioned Rs 4.61 crore for the construction of 181 residential units for the staff housing scheme of Numaligarh Refinery. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 26, 1999)

AIZAWL, October 25: A 30-member delegation from the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) today held talks with Mizoram government to explore possibilities of trade through the Indo-Bangla border, officials said, reports PTI. state chief secretary HV Lalringa, who led the Mizoram officials at the talks, told PTI here that the two sides discussed in detail the items which could be slated for the trans-border trade. "The talks were held under cordial atmosphere and both sides expressed enthusiasm on the prospect of initiating border trade," he said. FBCCI delegation, led by its president Abdul Awal Mintoo had earlier met Chief Minister Zoramthanga and Trade and Commerce minister Achhinga. The Chief Minister had informed the visiting delegation that Mizoram could export horticulture, agriculture and forest products. The delegation in turn said they could sell to the state industrial products like ceramics, rubber, ready-made garments and fish, among others, Indian Meteorological department sources said here. (PTI; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 26, 1999)

AGARTALA, October 25: Prices of essential commodities escalated in Tripura in the wake of the ongoing nationwide transport strike by All India Motor Transport Congress even as state Food and Civil Supplies minister Gopal Das claimed today that there was no dearth of essential commodities in the state. The present stock of essentials would continue for about two months, Das told PTI here. The government would review the situation at a high-level meeting here and try to ensure the essential commodities were made available to common people, he said. Though the state had enough stock of commodities, perishables like potato and onion would last for one week, he said. The assertions of the minister notwithstanding prices of essential commodities continued to rise in major state capital markets which solely depended on road transport. (PTI; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 26, 1999)

NAGAON, October 25: The Assam Tea Tribe Students' Association (ATTSA) have flayed the state government for its failure in fixing minimum daily wages of about 11 lakh tea garden workers for the last three years. In a press release, ATTSA president Simanchal Dighal alleged that the government had betrayed the cause of the tea garden workers of the state and adopted dilly-dally tactics to keep the vested interest groups in good humour. Dighal express his concern at the failure of the government to take any concrete step for revision of daily wages of the tea garden workers to be effective from 1st November, 1999. It is learnt that discussions are going on between the tea-garden management and the ACMS in this regard, Dighal said. Demanding that the minimum daily wage for the tea-garden workers should be Rs 49, the ATTSA leadership warned that unless the government takes right steps in this direction, the ATTSA will be forced to take agitational path. The Students' Association also expressed its deep concern at the failure of the authorities concerned to implement the ordinance passed on March 9 last where they were directed to pay wages on week holidays and urged the government to take immediate steps in this regard. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 26, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 26: The Association of power Engineers of state Electricity Board, Assam and Meghalaya, today called for measures to renovate the Bongaigaon Thermal power Station (BTPS) with the help of the accumulated depreciation fund of the Assam state Electricity Board (ASEB) amounting to around Rs 515 crore, instead of handing over the power station to the US power giant Ogden Energy Incorporate. The Association, in a press release here this evening, said that handing over the power station to the Ogden will lead to serious consequences jeopardising the industrial growth of the state in the days to come. It also called for a policy to involve professional expertise and technical financial administration procedures to rejuvenate the state power sector, without political and bureaucratic intervention. It is worth mentioning here that the state government has convened a tripartite meeting of the ASEB, Ogden and the state government representatives on October 28 next allegedly to expedite the process of handing over the BTPS to the Ogden. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 27, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 27: All Assam Students Union (AASU) has warned the state government against the move to hand over Bongaigaon Thermal power Station (BTPS) to the US-based power giant Ogden Energy Incorporated. The students body today demanded immediate steps on part of the state government to ensure smooth management of the BTPS and shelve the plan for its hand over in the greater interest of the state. The AASU observed that myopic attitude and mismanagement on part of the state government had plunged 'once profit-making' BTPS to the present unviable state. The AASU president Probin Boro and general secretary Amiyo Kumar Bhuyan today stated that the present inefficient government in the state was conspiring to sell out public sector units in the state instead of trying to work out adequate policy to run these viably. The student leaders said inefficiency of the state government was well reflected in the closure of Ashok Paper Mill at Jogighopa. They warned the government against trying to interfere with the affairs of profit-making Assam Polyester Co-operative Ltd. Meanwhile, Asom Bidyut Parishad Surakhya Samity, a united platform of the ASEB employees unions and associations, also condemned state government's move to lease out BTPS. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 28, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 27: BJP leader and former Union minister Kabindra Purkayastha today said construction of the 3,000-km-long Silchar-Saurashtra express highway would begin next month. He said the relevant notifications for construction of the 206-km-long Silchar-Langting stretch and the 116-km-long Langting-Doboka section of the proposed highway had already been issued. "The express highway, the first of its kind in the country, will be completed in a record time of three years," the former minister said. "Work on the road has already begun in at least 30 places," he added. Purkayastha said the Centre had sanctioned Rs 38,000 crore for the project. He also said the Assam stretch of the highway would be a four-lane one. The Silchar-Langting section of the highway will be constructed by the Northeastern Council (NEC) division of the Silchar public works department. `Construction of the second stretch will be undertaken by the NEC division, Nagaon. Purkayastha said the Atal Behari Vajpayee government had initiated several schemes for development of the rural areas. "Within five years, drinking water will be provided to all the villages in the country," he said. "The drinking water project introduced by our government last year was discontinued after the fall of the government. But it resumed immediately after the new government was sworn in," the former Union minister said. Purkayastha said the Centre had also decided to build one crore houses for the homeless in the next five years. "The housing project will benefit people living under the poverty line," he said. The BJP leader said the government would pay "special attention" to development of infra-structure in the Northeastern states. "Ten per cent of the budget allocation for all ministries is meant for the Northeastern region," he said. The former Union minister said the Centre had approved eight new power projects in the region and work on four of these had already begun. Winter session: A weeklong short winter session of the Assembly will begin on October 29, reports UNI. Speaker Ganesh Kutum said the session will have five working days. The Bills to be tabled in the current session include the Assam General Sales Tax(amendment) Bill, Lokayukta and Upa-lokayuktas (amendment) Bill, the Assam Tea Plantation Employees (provincialisation) Bill and the Assam Motor Vehicles Taxation Bill. (Correspondent; The Telegraph, Calcutta; October 28, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 28: Financial mismanagement by the management has resulted in a monthly cash gap of around Rs 1.5 crore in the Assam state Transport Corporation (ASTC), alleged sources in the Corporation. The ASTC has now hardly 173 of its fleet of 900-odd buses, on the roads, while the Provident Fund amount defaulted by Corporation authorities now stand at around Rs 37 crore, while the pending amount against the final settlement of PF for the retired or dead employees of the Corporation stood at Rs 2.15 crore in December 1996. The 1997 and 1998 amounts are yet to be worked out, said the sources. Against a requirement of 150 tyres per month, the Corporations now in a position to procure only 40 tyres in a month, let alone other parts, said the sources. The state government released an amount of Rs 3.32 crore against the plan heads, to the ASTC before the last Puja for procuring new vehicles. But the ASTC authorities diverted an amount of Rs 2.32 crore to the non-plan heads, despite the fact that the non-plan amount has been increased by the state government for the Corporation during the current month to Rs 1 crore from the earlier amount of Rs 60 lakh. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 29, 1999)

SHILLONG, October 28: A new breed of 'economic soldiers' are guarding international borders in the Northeastern region with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar to check the illegal inflow of narcotics and goods into the country. Describing the Customs officers as 'economic soldiers', the chief Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise, in-charge, Kanpur and Calcutta, BP Srivastava, told The Assam Tribune here yesterday that these soldiers were maintaining vigil on the international border to prevent smuggling activities. The border posts under the Shillong Commissionerate functions as anti-smuggling units to check smuggling of goods into India. During the current financial year (April-September) goods such as gold and narcotic drug worth Rs 5.7 crore has already been seized and confiscated, he said. The Shillong Commissionerate (SC), which looks after the entire region, has recorded a growth of 20 per cent in Central Excise revenue collection during the first six months of the financial year 1999-2000 as compared to the corresponding period of 1998-99. This is significant for the region as 80 per cent of revenue under this head is shared with the states, he informed. "Our department is the biggest revenue earner for the government of India," he said with pride. Srivastava disclosed that the Custom and Central Excise Department has been given a revenue collection target of Rs 1,14,000 crore during the current financial year. Last year, the actual collection was Rs 96,000 crore comprising Customs revenue of Rs 41,000 crore and Central Excise revenue of Rs 51,000 crore. The department accounts for as much as 70 per cent of the Central revenues, he disclosed. The department is also administering service tax which was imposed in July, 1994. Last year, the collection was Rs 1,500 crore. The target this year has been hiked to Rs 2,000 crore. In the Northeast Rs 3.44 crore have been collected under this head during April-August this year, according to Srivastava. The chief Commissioner said that the Centre had exempted Central Excise duty for any unit in the Northeast which has started commercial production after December 24, 1997 or has raised its installed capacity to the extent of 25 per cent with a view to boost industrial growth in the region. He expected such refund of the duty to manufacturers from July this year to March, 2000, shall amount to approximately Rs 40 crore. Of the revenue target from the region, cess on crude petroleum and duty on petroleum products alone are expected to generate about Rs 750-800 crore of which Rs 360 crore have already been collected up to September this year. Tea is targeted to yield Rs 112 crore this year of which Rs 50 crore has been collected. (Bedabrata Lahkar; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 29, 1999)

AIZAWL, October 28: The abundant natural resources of Mizoram could be properly harnessed to produce hydel power, state Chief Minister Zoramthanga said on Wednesday. The people of Mizoram do expect that the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) would do its bit for improving the state's power situation, Zoramthanga said while inaugurating the 36th meeting of the Central Electricity Board (CEB) here. The state government wanted the state's hydel power resources fully tapped and explored, he emphasised. The Chairman of CEA and CEB RN Srivastava, in his address, said he had taken note of what the state needed in generation of more power. More than 40 delegates from all over the country were attending the two-day meeting where topics like higher and safer power generation, transmission and setting right the regional imbalances in power generation and supply would be discussed. Earlier, the Mizoram government urged the CEA to help in implementation of more power projects in the state. deputy Chief Minister Lalhmingthanga, who also holds power portfolio, met the CEA Chairman and urged him to expedite implementation of five power projects in the state. Lalhmingthanga urged Srivastava to source funds for implementation of the Rs 96-crore 12-MW Serlui small hydel project for which a detailed project report (DPR) has been completed. He also asked for technical clearance for the 20-MW Bairbai thermal power plant. (PTI; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 29, 1999)

NEW DELHI, October 29: The Union government has finalised a plan to merge the Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (BRPL) with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). A cabinet note to that effect is now pending before the Union cabinet, sources told The Assam Tribune here today. The step comes after the earlier move of the Union government to disinvest in the BRPL came to a naught following a massive hue-and-cry raised in the state. The BRPL, during the last financial year, had posted a profit of Rs 34 crore, with a turnover of Rs 940 crore. Meanwhile, sources here said that the Union ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas early this month circulated a confidential note suggesting the merger of the two, before finalisation of the cabinet note. The argument put forward being that the recommendations of the Sengupta Committee, which had recommended merger of the BRPL with the IOC. According to the proposal, the merger would be in the ratio of 8:1. In effect it means that share holder would be entitled to one share of IOC, in lieu of eight shares of BRPL. The BRPL is a government-held company with 75 per cent stake, while the public owns 25 per cent equity. Besides, the IOC also has the exclusive right to market the products of the BRPL. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 30, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 29: International Trade through Assam will receive a big boost following the signing of the Indo-Bangladesh protocol on Water Transit and Trade, said the Chief Minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. Giving a statement in the state assembly today, Mahanta said that the agreement was signed in Dhaka yesterday by secretary Shipping of the government of Bangladesh and his Indian counterpart. He said that till recently, the exporters of the state had to depend on the ports located in other states to export their goods but in the trade agreement signed yesterday, two terminals in Assam-Karimganj and Pandu-have been included as ports of call. With the inclusion of these two terminals in the protocol, it would be possible to export goods to Bangladesh through waterways from these ports. Similarly, it would be possible to import goods directly from Bangladesh through these ports, he added. This will give a big boost to international trade not only in Assam but also in the other states of the Northeastern region of the country, Mahanta said. The Chief Minister also informed the House that after the declaration of the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi airport as an international airport, steps have already been initiated for exporting goods from the airport. He revealed that processed food items worth Rs one lakh were exported to Nepal. Ornaments and carbon products were exported to Hong Kong and carbon blocks were exported to UK from the airport within this month, he said. Meanwhile, Hemen Das (CPM) hailed the signing of the trade protocol with Bangladesh. But at the same time, he said that the Centre should be moved to allow border trade with Myanmar. Brindaban Goswami (AGP) said that while encouraging border trade, the government should ensure that the economy of the state is not affected by the international trade. Devananda Konwar (Cong) called for immediate steps for the reopening of the Stilwell road. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 30, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 29: The Chief Minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has urged the private investors to explore the tourism potential of the Northeast. Inaugurating the three-day long seminar on tourism, organised by the association of tour operators of Northeast India at Sankardeva Kalakshetra here today, Mahanta said that in spite of having vast resources, the tourism industry is yet to gain pace. He, however said that the state government is trying to give a new shape to the tourism sector. With declaration of the Brahmaputra as the second national waterway, the tourism industry is poised for a new look, but concerted efforts should be initiated in this regard, the Chief Minister said. Commenting on the prevailing law and order situation of the state, the Chief Minister revealed that the situation of state is improving day by day. He called upon the tour operators to create an awareness among the people about the tourism industry. The Municipal Administration minister, Biraj Kumar Sarma, also spoke on the occasion. Earlier, the working president of the association, Ranu Baruwa delivered welcome address. Meanwhile, several tour operators who had assembled here for the seminar urged the Centre to provide more funds in the region to improve the infrastructure. Commenting on the prevailing situation Amitabh Sarma of Himalayan Holiday said that Centre should pay more attention to the region in order to boost the tourism industry. He also said that the tourism potential of the region is yet to be explored due to poor infrastructure. When asked whether law and order situation had any impact on the tourists, Sarma said that law and order situation of the region is much better than Jammu and Kashmir, and other parts of the country. In this context, he said that only 25 per cent tourist potential of the region is explored, hence a concerted effort is a must. The director of the Seven Sister's Safari Tours and Travels, Arunachal Pradesh, J Tashi said that he is facing problem due to prevailing law and order situation in some states of the region. Tashi said that the state has witnessed rush of foreign tourists, but infrastructure should be improved so that more tourists could come to the region. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 30, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 29: Long plagued by the problem of waterlogging, Assam's capital city is eagerly awaiting implementation of a Rs 105.46-crore drainage project undertaken by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority. The Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) has already sanctioned a loan of Rs 67.06 crore for the project. HUDCO regional chief PK Rajkhowa told The Telegraph that the "storm drainage improvement project" was approved on September 14 and work may begin next month. "The flood control and town and country planning departments are the implementing agencies for the project. They are scheduled to begin work on November 1," he said. Rajkhowa said the metropolitan development authority was making all efforts to ensure "proper implementation" of the project, the first of its kind in the Northeast. "The project is likely to be completed within two-and-a-half years," he said. The project envisages "re-sectioning" of the Bharalu, Mora and Hatigaon drainage channels apart from construction of new trunk drains, sub-trunk drains and branch drains. "Improvement of storm water reservoirs and construction of sluice gates are also on the cards," Rajkhowa said. Besides improving Guwahati's drainage system, the metropolitan development authority also plans to construct a flyover at Ganeshguri Chariali. It has sought a Rs 20.75-crore loan from HUDCO for the purpose. Sources said the proposal to construct a new flyover will be placed before the Urban Infrastructure Project Evaluation Committee, which is scheduled to hold a meeting in the Meghalaya capital of Shillong on November 25. If approved, the Rs 29.64-crore flyover project will be implemented by the public works department and commissioned within two-and-a-half years. The Gauhati Municipal Corporation, too, is planning to implement a water-supply scheme in the eastern part of the city, for which it has sought Rs 100 crore from HUDCO. The Rs 162.85-crore project is expected to facilitate supply of 106 million litres of drinking water to the people of the city. "This proposal will also be placed before the Urban Infra-structure Project Evaluation Committee," Rajkhowa said. (Anirban Roy; The Telegraph, Calcutta; October 30, 1999)

GUWAHATI, October 30: If the deal to lease out the Bongaigaon Thermal Power Station (BTPS) is not finalised by December 31, US based company Ogden Energy Inc may pull out of the deal. This was disclosed by the executive consultants of the company, TK Ghosh and Sreejit K Tagore here today. The executive consultants of the company said that if immediate steps are not taken to renovate the BTPS, the government would have to sell off the power plant as scrap as the plant is producing only about nine MW of power in the last three months. They said that the state government and the Ogden failed to arrive at a consensus in the meeting held on October 28 and now the company is waiting for a positive response from the state government by November 10. Tagore said that the company first came to Assam in 1996 to look for opportunities to invest in the power sector in the State and the Chief Minister also encouraged them. He said that to identify the projects, the Ogden signed an agreement with the state government to study the possibility to invest in the power sector. The company first tried to set up a gas based power project but the Ministry of Petroleum refused to provide gas. The company also found that the setting up of a hydel project in Assam would be difficult because the construction period would be too long and the project cost would be much higher. Tagore revealed that the Chief Minister then mentioned about the possibility of renovating the BTPS and a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to study the feasibility of taking the plant on lease for its renovation. The Ogden brought in experts to examine the plant and had talks with the BHEL and Siemns after which, the company agreed to take the plant on lease. He said that according to an estimate made by the company, it would take an amount of Rs 370 crore to renovate the 240 MW plant. The whole study of the plant by experts cost the company an amount of about 1.8 million US dollars, he added. He further said that the company was willing to sell power at the rate of Rs 1.11 per unit plus the cost of fuel. The company also planned to reduce the expenditure on fuel by importing coal and by mixing coal available in Margherita and Meghalaya. The Ogden had also entered into an agreement with the Industrial Development Bank of India to finance the project. Tagore revealed that on January 12 last, the company signed an lease-renovate-operate and transfer agreement with the Assam State Electricity Board on stamp paper and it only needed the affirmation of the government of Assam. He said that the government later refused to accept the validity of the document, which forced the Odgen to seek legal opinion from Justice Chandrachur, the former Chief Justice of India, who opined that the document signed by the ASEB member personnel was a valid legal document. The executive consultant of the Ogden Energy said that in their meeting on October 28 also, the government first said that the document signed by the ASEB and the US company was not a legal one. But later the state government said that they wanted some changes in the document. Tagore further said that the Ogden is ready to accept certain amendments in the agreement and the meeting decided to make the amendments by November 10 and now the Ogden is awaiting the response of the state government. Tagore said that though the plant can be run with only 37 persons, the Ogden assured the government that they would take all the 1500 persons employed in the plant including 900 permanent staff and 600 casual staff. Replying to a question on the opposition by some organisations to the move to lease out the BTPS, Tagore and Ghosh said that these organisations were not informed about the offers made by the Ogden in proper perspective by the state government. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune, Guwahati; October 31, 1999)