GUWAHATI, May 1: Assam is endowed with oil shore reserve capable of sustaining crude oil production of 140 million tonnes annually for a period of hundred years, said a study of Cooper and Lybrand. The report of the study, which is available in the NER Databank created by NEDFi and the NIC, said that Assam occupies an important position in the history of oil industry in India and the state accounts for 50 per cent of the on-shore crude oil production. The state has the highest success ratio of 70 per cent in the world in respect of oil exploration. The report said that Assam presents a tremendous potential for investment in the oil and natural gas sector as the state has over 1.3 billion tonnes of proven crude oil and 156 billion cum of natural gas reserves. Approximately 58 per cent of these hydro-carbon reserves are yet to be explored. The areas having good potential in this regard include the north bank of the river Brahmaputra, the Brahmaputra river bed, marshy areas along the banks of the Brahmaputra and the south-eastern areas of the existing oil fields in Upper Assam. The report pointed out that the crude oil produced in the state is of proven quality having low sulphur and high wan and aromatic content. Opening of new oil fields in Assam and the other Northeastern states would open up opportunities for investment in additional refining in Assam. Though natural gas available in Assam is rich in petrochemical factions, the present usage is limited to manufacture of methanol, formaldehyde, melamine, urea formaldehyde, urea and LPG. It is also being used for power generation and as fuel in the tea industry. However, the other potential areas of usage of natural gas including conversion to liquefied natural gas, conversion to compressed natural gas, input for manufacturing sponge iron, production of synthetic crude oil with Assam coal, etc can be explored, the report said. The report said that the setting up of the gas cracker project, may lead to setting up of a number of downstream industries. The downstream industries that can be set up based on the products of the gas cracker project include pesticides, glycerine, polyvinyl chloride and a large number of other sectors. The report pointed out that Assam also has tremendous potential for development of limestone based industries. The report said that there are reserves of over 828.51 million tonnes of limestone and 320 million tonnes of high grade variety in the hill districts of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills. So far the only big industry utilising these deposits is the cement industry and there is ample scope for investment in this area. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 3, 2000)

DIGBOI, May 1: In view of the increasing demand for cooking gas, the IOC Ltd (AOD) has decided to establish an LPG plant around Digboi. The corporation approached the government of Assam to allot land to establish the LPG bottling plant. The government of Assam offered a plot of land at Gopnari, 17 km from Digboi and formalities to hand over the land, measuring 83 acres, was done in March 1996. The plant will have a capacity to produce 25,000 metric tonnes per annum. The IOC Ltd Board approved the Rs 45.55 crore project in November 1998. The cooking gas will be supplied to the plant from Digboi Refinery and Oil India Ltd, Duliajan. The road of 1.7 km from NH-38 to the plant site was given to the PWD for construction. The plant area will be surrounded by a 3-metre high wall and modern equipment as well as new technology will be applied in making the plant. The gas to be used in this plant will be kept underground. Moreover, high pressure pipeline covering the whole plant area with hydrant and system to monitor, will be provided. All the units of the plant will be interlinked through paging system. No waste materials, either solid or liquid, will come out from this plant causing environment pollution. Only a mild odour of LPG will be emitted, not injurious to health while the plant in operation. (Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 3, 2000)

SHILLONG, May 2: The Northeastern Electrical Power Corporation (NEEPCO) has threatened to disconnect power supply to Assam and the Northeastern states from June 1 next unless the staggering outstandings amounting to Rs 896.64 crore are cleared by May 31 next. "We have served notice to this effect a fortnight back but except for Manipur, not a single Northeast state has responded so far," NEEPCO chairman-cum-managing director PK Kotoky said here today. He regretted that the stoppage of power supply will create inconvenience to the general public and added ''the extreme step is unavoidable to save the NEEPCO from sure disaster in the near future.'' The amount due to NEEPCO as on date from the Northeast states is equivalent to more than thrice of power sales of the Corporation. Consequently, the NEEPCO is facing a severe liquidity crisis. In fact, the NEEPCO is borrowing from several financial institutions at very high rate of interest to finance the operation and maintenance expenditure in its power plants thereby eroding the financial health of the corporation, Kotoky said. The NEEPCO CMD regretted that the Northeast states have failed to clear their dues to NEEPCO since December, 1996. Assam, the biggest defaulter has outstanding dues of Rs 628.81 crore including interest of over Rs 200 crore. With over 50 per cent of the power requirements of the Northeastern states presently being met by the NEEPCO, darkness looms in the Northeastern skies if the disconnection threat is carried out. (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 4, 2000)

GUWAHATI, May 2: Proving to be a boon for the rural populace and providing better accessibility to the interior parts of the state, modern concrete bridges are gradually replacing the old, worn out wooden bridges that tended to get washed away during floods. It is the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) that is spearheading the change. Today, dozens of concrete bridges are coming up across the state with the assistance of NABARD and people are taking note of it. Under different phases of the RIDF, NABARD has sanctioned loans worth crores to finance the bridge-building projects. It has given the go-ahead for the construction of 139 bridges in four packages under RIDF II. The bank has sanctioned a Rs 70.32 crore loan for the conversion of 44 SPT bridges to concrete ones. Under RIDF III, the bank has given Rs 17.88 crore as loan for construction of 13 incomplete bridges. Most of them have already been completed while the rest will be completed before the monsoons, sources said here. NABARD has also sanctioned Rs 73.27 crore for the conversion of 39 SPT bridges to RCC under RIDF IV while another Rs 55.22 crore has been sanctioned for 43 similar bridges under RIDF V. The sources said that all the 23 bridges on the 100 km Amingaon-Howly Road, covering vast interior areas in the districts of Kamrup. Nalbari and Barpeta and connecting several important villages, have been completed. Another 25 bridges have been built in Morigaon district and nine in the eastern part of Kamrup. The RCC bridges have made a lot of difference, smoothening the flow of traffic on the rural roads. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 4, 2000)

GUWAHATI, May 3: The commissioning of the hydrocracker unit of Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) would be delayed by about a month's time due to unexpected failure of a few internals - bubble caps fitted inside all the three reactors of the unit. Official sources here informed that the commissioning process began in April last year itself in a phased manner and the most complex of all machineries of the refinery - the hydrocracker unit - was also ready for commissioning by January this year. Even though the pre-commissioning process of this unit started early this month, the caps of the above mentioned reactors were found cracked when opened for inspection as a mandatory prerequisite. Later, it was found out that they failed due to manufacturing defects. As these caps were produced and supplied by an Italian company they have been asked to immediately replace the caps. Though the company has agreed for this, yet it has so far failed to give a firm date of delivery of the items. So, to minimise the delay, NRL authorities have already taken up parallel action for procuring these items from an indigenous producer and hope to begin commissioning of the unit by June this year. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 4, 2000)

GUWAHATI, May 4: At a time when a global concern has been expressed over the growing environmental pollution on the earth, the Assam Pollution Control Board (PCB) has been facing acute financial hardship and it is feared that if some expeditious remedial measures are not taken to remove the vast difference between the revenue and expenditure of the board, it will face closure in the near future. According to the board sources, the rise the prices of various essential items required for the maintenance of its offices and laboratories and the enhancement in the salaries of the Board employees following the recommendations of the last Pay Commission have made the board expenditures to shoot up. But, on the other hand, the income of the Board from its own sources has remained almost constant, while the government's assistance in the form of grants-in-aid has also become quite inadequate, the sources said. Elaborating, the sources said that against a total expenditure of Rs 1,43,12,210 in 1998-1999, the board received an amount of Rs 1,27,80,291. In 1999-2000, the board received an amount of Rs 1,54,39,205 against an expenditure of Rs 2,14,76,024. The board received Rs 30 lakh and Rs 10 lakh under the Plan and non-Plan heads respectively during 1996-1997 against the budgetary allocation of Rs 52 lakh and Rs 28 lakh under the heads. In the following year, the board received Rs 10 lakh under the Plan head and Rs 5 lakh under the Non-Plan head against the allocations of Rs 40 lakh and Rs 28 lakh under the heads respectively, the sources said. In 1998-99, board received an amount of Rs 14 lakh only under the Non-Plan head, even as the budgetary allocation under the Plan and Non-Plan heads that year were Rs 60 lakh and Rs 28 lakh respectively, the sources said. In 1999-2000 also, the board received an amount from the government only under the Non-Plan head, even as budgetary allocation of Rs 60 lakh and Rs 28 lakh were made for the board during the year respectively under Plan and Non-Plan heads. The amount received by the board during the year under Non-Plan head was Rs 27.50 lakh, said the sources. As per the expressed provision under Section 35 of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, the state government may, after due appropriation made by the state Legislature, make in each financial year such contributions to the PCB as it may deem necessary to enable the board to perform the functions entrusted to it by the said act. But, it was found that out of the total budgetary allocations of Rs 232 lakh under the Plan head between 1995-1996 and 1999-2000, only an amount of Rs 73 lakh was released to the board. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 5, 2000)

GUWAHATI, May 5: Assam is on the threshold of a green revolution. The shallow tubewell scheme of the state agriculture department has succeeded in mobilising rural farmers to opt for double-cropping for the first time in the state. The scheme, which envisages installation of 100,000 shallow tubewells all over the state, has achieved a remarkable breakthrough with more than 40,000 tubewells operational within the six months of its announcement. The result of the STW scheme, which is implemented under the special supervision of the chief minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, is quite visible throughout the state as most of the paddy fields in the flood prone areas of the state are at present looking lush green with crops of high-yield variety seeds. Habitually, these paddy fields are not harvested during the summer in Assam. The scheme is not only going to change the economy of rural Assam, but it has given a new dream to the youth, who are unemployed after completing their education. Bhabakanta Boro, a beneficiary of the scheme at Bejortari village in Kamrup district, says: "The shallow tubewell has given a fresh lease of life to the farmers who had lost their interest in summer crop. Nowadays, we in our village chopal do not have time to talk about the ULFA and NDFB. The talk of the chopal is whose crop is getting better and whose is infected with diseases." The old man of the village, who has seen several transformations in rural Assam, said the fact that the scheme has managed to affect the villagers' psychology is the most important thing. "My son, who has passed his higher secondary, is not at all interested in getting a job according to his education. He wants to join me in farming," Boro said while congratulating the department for giving them some scientific knowhow on paddy farming. A village-level agriculture worker, Khagen Chandra Das of Bortari village, said, "This scheme has increased our importance as earlier a very small piece of land was under farming. The remaining sizeable chunk of land used to be left idle due to the lack of irrigation facilities during the summer. This is the first summer when not less than 210 hectares of land in my sub-division is being harvested." "We are busy in advising the farmers to protect their crops from various diseases that may affect their crops. Recently I noticed blast disease in a plot and the farmer was advised to spray pesticides. Now it has been checked," he said, disclosing that a large number of youths are coming forward to take advantage of the STW scheme. As the pumps are not given free of cost, this has made the villagers more responsible as they have to recover the one-third share they invested in buying the pump sets from the government. Another farmer, Biswajit Kalita, says, "We are paying for the tubewell so we make it a point that machine supplied by the supplier should be in good condition." Almost all the farmers in the area agreed this is the first time rural Assam is been feeling motivated to start farming. "We are hopeful that the government would come out with some similar schemes to enable us to buy tractors or power-tillers in the future on easy instalments," the villagers, said hoping that his voice would reach the government. (Manoj Anand; The Asian Age; Guwahati; May 6, 2000)

NEW DELHI, May 5 - The Prime Minister's promise of an annual loan disbursement of Rs 50 crore, announced as part of the special package for economic development of the region, has landed the Northeast Development Finance Corporation (NEDFi) in trouble, leaving it with no option but to go to the market to raise additional funds. While the chairman of the financial institution, Jayanta Madhab said that they would disburse the amount from its own resources this year, from next year onwards they have to look for other options to raise the amount. The chairman was interacting with MPs, top Central government officials and policy planners at an annual presentation of the institution, here last evening, which coincided with the inauguration of its website by the Union minister of state for Water resources, Bijoya Chakravarty. The chairman said options they were considering includes seeking Union finance ministry's permission to raise additional equity of Rs 150 crore, sanction of grants, or raising the funds from the market. NEDFi with a share capital of Rs 100 crore found itself in a tight position when the special package was announced at Shillong. For instance, for the year 2000-2001, the NEDFi has already approved a business plan of Rs 85 crore for sanction, and as such disbursing additional Rs 50 crore annually, is likely to leave its finances in a mess. One of the MP, in fact raised this issue at the meeting wondering from where the Financial Institution proposed to raise the additional funds. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee during the conference of Chief Ministers and Governors of the Northeastern region in Shillong last January, announced that the NEDFi would disburse Rs 50 crore per annum. The financial institution's woes, however, does not end there. The MPs of the Northeastern states are also sore with the NEDFi, for what they alleged was neglect of their respective areas by the institution. Yesterday's briefing organized mainly for the benefit of the MPs was virtually boycotted by many, with only the chairman and general secretary of the Northeast MPs Forum, PR Kyndiya and Arun Kumar Sarma, turning up. Officially though, the ongoing debate on the Finance Bill in the Lok Sabha was cited as the main cause for their absence from the briefing. However, Kyndiya raised the issue, saying that many a member nursed a grouse against the NEDFi for their manner of functioning in the region. Asserting that he was conveying the feelings of his fellow members, the MP from Meghalaya called for a change in the style of functioning of NEDFi. He suggested that the institution should set up a cell for assisting the people in filling up forms and completing necessary formalities. Many people are either falling prey to touts or are shy to approach the banks for loans as they find the process too tough, he added. Meanwhile, the NEDFi, its chairman said, is going ahead with its plan of setting up an Information Technology Park in Guwahati, with the VSNL providing the gateway to be located in the same place. The NEDFi has also changed its priority with agriculture, horticulture, floriculture fisheries now identified as key areas for financing. Several of the policy planners and economists including IK Barthakur, present at the briefing lauded the effort asserting that multiple cropping held the key to economic success of the state. In this connection, the availability of high-yield seeds and assistance of the agriculture university were considered essential. The NEDFi, the chairman disclosed is also planning to sponsor a study on starting a regional air service in the Northeast. He added that the NEDFi's web site (www.nedfi.com) would contain all essential information on the region, besides study and project reports on various products commissioned by the organisation. The site also has the facility for online application for loans, besides a host of other facilities. (Kalyan Barooah; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 6, 2000)

SHILLONG, May 5: Thirteen projects have been sanctioned for Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura under the 'Critical Infrastructure Balance Scheme' as part of measures to boost border trade in the Northeastern region. Official sources here revealed today that the Centre has sanctioned an amount of Rs. 16.43 crore for these projects which cover development of roads, improvement of power supply to exporting units, installation of weigh bridges at Land Custom Stations (LCS), construction of composite building and establishment of trade centre. It is also proposed to develop the LCSs at Moreh (Manipur), Dawki (Meghalaya), Zokhawthar (Mizoram) and Suerekandi (Assam) within the next two years at a total cost of Rs 20 crore. The National Highway (NH) 31 in Assam, NH 40, 51 and 62 in Meghalaya, NH 44 in Tripura and NH 39 in Manipur connecting neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Myanmar are being maintained in a 'traffic worthy' condition within the availability of funds. According to the sources, the NH from Karimganj town to Suerakandi on the Indo-Bangladesh border in Assam has been declared as NH 51. An empowered Committee has also been set up to examine the recommendations made by the Inter-ministerial Task Force on "Border Trade and Inter-Country Trade Issues in the Northeast." Further, the department of Commerce has commissioned a transport optimisation study in the Northeast region, through Rail India Technical and Economic Consultancy Services (Rites). (Special Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 6, 2000)

GUWAHATI, May 6: All the 487 block headquarters in the Northeast, including Sikkim, will be connected to the information superhighway within the next two years courtesy a Rs 220 crore Central project for the region to bring the internet to the doorsteps of the people. A pilot project, covering 30 blocks is already on and it will be inaugurated by August 15, announced Union Information Technology (IT) minister, Pramod Mahajan here on Saturday evening. Mahajan, who was addressing the media after chairing a meeting with the IT ministers of the Northeast states and the IT secretary of Sikkim at the Assam Administrative Staff College, said that the project will be entirely Centrally sponsored and will provide the people with easy access to information on a wide range of subjects. The Centre will maintain the facilities for five years after commissioning but the respective state governments will have the option to take over before that period, Mahajan said. 15 block headquarters in Assam are included in the pilot project, he informed, with Tripura having three and the rest of the states two each. Mahajan said the software technology park near the Guwahati airport is in the final stages of completion and will be inaugurated by August 15. "I will try to be present myself to inaugurate the park," he said. Emphasising the need to train the government employees in handling computers to make electronic governance a reality, Mahajan said the Centre will give Assam Rs one crore and the rest of the Northeast states Rs 50 lakh each to train the staff in their respective staff training colleges. "If the states do not have their own staff training colleges, the employees can be trained independently," he said. The Union minister said seven universities will be connected to each other in the region from Sunday after test runs that were completed today. "You can say that I have inaugurated the system in this press conference," Mahajan said about the system that connects the Arunachal University (Itanagar), Manipur University (Imphal), Northeastern Hill University (Shillong), Tripura University (Agartala), Tezur University, Dibrugarh University and the Assam Agricultural University (Jorhat). He said three more universities in Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim will be connected by August 15. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati and the Gauhati University will also be connected subsequently, he said. Elaborating on the block connectivity project, Mahajan said each block headquarter will be provided with five computer terminals and will be known as community information centres (CICS). There will also be training facilities in these centres, he said. The minister said district headquarters not provided with internet facilities at present will also be covered to make the entire project comprehensive. "I can assure you that none of the so-called advanced states like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra or Karnataka can boast of such IT development as you will see in this region in two years," Mahajan said. And this is just the beginning, he assured. The reason for the Centre's emphasis on the development of IT in the Northeast is to compensate for its relative inaccessibility through road, rail or air, Mahajan stated. He said that the present government at the Centre had laid stress in IT right from the beginning. Mahajan said the country now has about three lakh IT professionals and adds close to 70,000 more each year. He said his government is trying to double the figure soon so that there are about 25 lakh IT professionals in the country by the end of the current decade. Mahajan said India's knowledge of English and the Indians' easy grasp of logic and mathematics has enabled the country to have an edge over its IT rivals. He said the current IT exports are in the tune of Rs 18,880 crore but the government has set a target to hike it to $ (US) 50 billion by 2008 with overall production of $ (US) 87 billion. Mahajan said a third centre of the Centre for Electronic Design and Technology in the region will be set up at Aizawl at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore. Two such centres exist at Imphal and Tezpur. Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta was present throughout today's meeting and in his speech emphasised on the urgent need for the penetration of the optical fibre network of IT to the villages and blocks of the region. He called for effective coordination between the Central and state agencies in this regard and suggested the constitution of a coordination committee. Mahanta said the state government is planning to encourage IT diffusion for citizen-oriented e-governance. He disclosed that the state government is in the process of finalising a scheme to impart IT education at the school-level. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 7, 2000)

GUWAHATI, May 7: In a significant development the website of Northeastern Development Finance Corporation Limited (NEDFi) - http://www.nedfi.com/ was inaugurated by Union minister of state for water resources Bijoya Chakravarty at India International Centre (IIC) at New Delhi yesterday, informed a NEDFi release. On this occasion a presentation on the activities and achievements of the organisation was made by its chairman - Jayanta Madhab in presence of several MPs from Northeastern region including Arun Kumar Sarma and PR Kyndiah, president of Northeast MPs' Forum. Madhab in his presentation informed that in the last four years of NEDFi's existence Rs 89 crore in term loans were disbursed for 121 projects. Besides, NEDFi has also taken up several initiatives like launching facilitating centres for benefit of local aspiring entrepreneurs. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 8, 2000)

NEW DELHI, May 9: Union finance minister of state V Dhanajaya Kumar revealed that during the last financial year an amount of Rs 25.33 crore of excise duty has been refunded to the industrial units in the Northeastern region. The minister's assertion notwithstanding, murmurs of protest have surfaced, with Shibu Soren of Bihar seeking replies from the Centre whether it was suffering huge revenue loss due to full scale excise exemption on certain industrial units. He also wanted to know whether the Centre was aware that the exemption has led to the growth of 'letter pad companies' in the region. Responding to the queries, Kumar said that excise duty was refunded in the region to the cigarettes, paan masala and tobacco, units. Asserting that it was a policy decision taken by the Central government, the minister ruled out any irregularities, claiming that the units that have come up so far were availing of the benefits of full excise exemption granted to the industries and are engaged in manufacturing activities within the meaning of the Central Excise Act. It may be noted that ever since the excise duty exemptions were announced, the finance ministry has been under tremendous pressures from various quarters to suspend the notification mainly on the plea that it would lead to huge revenue loss for the Centre. And succumbing to pressure from the cigarette lobby the finance ministry late last year exempted cigarette, leading to a massive outcry in the region. It was on Prime Minister's intervention early in January that the second finance ministry notification was withdrawn. According to the notification by the Centre, excise duty exemptions has been provided to all goods manufactured and cleared by new industrial units in specified growth centres, industrial infrastructure development centres, export promotion parks in Assam and Tripura and Meghalaya. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 8, 2000)

GUWAHATI, May 10: The Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has sought a report from the state government's Finance and Science and Technology departments as well as from the secretary of the state Pollution Control Board (PCB) on the financial health of the board. Taking cognisance of a report published in this paper last week, the AHRC passed an order last Saturday seeking the report. Members Paramananda Kalita and SK Chand Mohammed said in their order that the people of the state cannot remain exposed to pollution due to shortage of funds and it will be a violation or failure to prevent violation of the human right relating to life. The state government should examine the scope of getting funds from various international and national agencies or the corporate sector, the Commission felt. The report published in The Assam Tribune had stated that the PCB is presently facing liability of over Rs 2 crore which has curtailed its functions. The PCB has been undertaking various inspection, investigations and analysis for the classification of water zones and water bodies, for monitoring and collection of effluent samples, for ground water and river basin study etc. "There is no greater threat to the humanity than pollution," the AHRC noted in its order. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 11, 2000)

AIZAWL, May 11: Beijing-based International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) would soon submit the final project report for establishment of bamboo-based industrial units in Mizoram, IV Ramanuja Rao, its senior manager said here on Thursday. Talking to reporters, Rao said that Mizoram has vast potential for setting up of bamboo processing units and two units would be established in the state. INBAR has already signed a memorandum of understanding with the state government for bamboo research and development and interim project report had been submitted by the organisation, he said. Terming bamboo as eco-friendly, he said that community enterprises based on bamboo processing would help uplift the economy of the state in general and the rural people in particular. Prof Tang Yongyu of China National Bamboo Research Centre also said that Mizoram's economy can prosper with bamboo processing and the state's north-western town of Bairabi and south-western town of Tlabung are found to be suitable for setting up the units. Magdalena Araneta Singh of Philippines said that one bamboo-based industry can generate, 1,000 jobs and INBAR would set up more units in the state after five years. (The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 12, 2000)

GUWAHATI, May 11: Kaziranga National Park, the home of Indian one-horned rhinoceros, has undergone severe erosion due to recurring annual floods. Post-flood data acquired by Indian remote sensing satellite IRS 1 D reveals that the park area has shrunk by more than 51 square kilometre in the past three decades. This conclusion was arrived at by comparing the base map of the park prepared from the Survey of India topographic map of 1967-68 with the geocoded IRS data. The analysis of multitude satellite data has revealed progressive encroachment of the Brahmaputra river over the park which occurred from 1967 to 1998. During this period the park suffered a heavy loss of land mass extending about 19.50 square km on the western side, 5 sq. km on the northern side and 8.78 sq km in the eastern side. In general a total area of about 33.28 sq km was eroded by floods during this period. After the deluge of 1950, floods of 1998 had been the worst in Assam and more than 90 per cent of the park area remained under water almost continuously from June to September leading to severe erosion. Many animals perished in the flood while many animals, which survived the high flood, died of starvation. This world heritage site is oval in shape and has an extent of 45 km length east-west and is about 15 km wide at its broadest point. On the north the park is bounded by the river Brahmaputra and by hills of Karbi Anglong on the south. According to 1993 census the park has 1164 rhinos, 1094 elephants, 1034 wild buffaloes 423 swamp deer, 2048 hog deer, 140 wild boar, capped langur, gibbon etc. All these animals live together in the vast swamps intercepted with high, coarse grasses, open forest, waterways and different forms of water bodies. The study which was carried out by SD Naik, SK Bora and T Hussain of marine and water resources division, Remote Sensing Application Area of the Space Application Centre at Ahmedabad was aimed at working out priority areas for taking up bank erosion measures on urgent basis in the park.(NEO). (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 12, 2000)

NEW DELHI, May 12: The Assam government yet again may have to face further deductions of funds, as it has to repay loans and advances to the tune of Rs 300.18 crore this year, while its total outs tandings with the Centre stands at whopping Rs 4,433.07 crore. This information was given to the Lok Sabha by minister of state for finance, Balasaheb Vikhe Patil. The Union government is generally guided in respect of writing off loans by the recommendations of the Finance Commission. Any debt relief to states will have to await the recommendations of the Eleventh Finance Commission, the minister said, putting at rest all speculations about demands made by various states for waiving off the outstanding amounts. Among the Northeast states, Assam is the only state which owes a huge amount. The outstandings of other states are; Arunachal Pradesh (Rs 360.03 crore), Manipur (Rs 429.99 crore), Meghalaya (Rs 328.40 crore), Mizoram (Rs 336.15 crore), Nagaland (Rs 415.60 crore) and Tripura (Rs 649.18 crore). Assam has been pleading with the Central government to write off its outstandings to enable it to straighten out its financial mess. Besides it has also been demanding Rs 1,000 crore one-time assistance to repay its debts. But realising that the Centre is in no mood to concede to the demands so quickly, it is now pleading that until a final decision on writing off the outstanding is taken, a moratorium on repayment be allowed to give it some reprieve. But the statement today clearly indicates that this year it has to repay Rs 300.18 crore back to the Centre. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 13, 2000)

GUWAHATI, May 12: Stung by adverse media reports that Assam was being flooded by 'gamochas' churned out by the powerlooms based in South India, threatening to wipe out the traditional handloom 'gamochas', the state government on the eve of Bohag Bihu this year, decided to enforce the Handloom (Reservation of Articles for Production), Act, 1985, prohibiting production and sale of powerloom 'gamochas' with a fresh resolve. The results have been good enough to please the government. Addressing a news conference at the Guwahati Press Club on Friday morning, state minister for Handloom Textiles and Sericulture, Ramendra Narayan Kalita, said that the 'special drive' to enforce the ban and ensure adequate supply of handloom 'gamochas' in the state has been a success. Over 15 lakh gamochas were produced in the state handloom sector in the Bihu season which was able to meet the heavy demand for 'gamochas, during the festivities. A total of 5,15,035 pieces of 'gamochas' produced by the weavers of the state were sold during the Bihu festival at a total sale value of Rs 202.5 lakh through permanent and temporary sales centres established by the Handloom and Textiles department, the district and primary weavers cooperative societies, ARTFED and Assam government Marketing Corporation Ltd. (AGMC), Kalita said. The rest were woven by the weavers in their looms for personal and family use. Kalita said the 5,15,035 pieces of 'gamochas' were produced in just 45 days involving 5,722 weavers in the process creating 2,57,490 mandays of work. About 64,380 kg of yarn was consumed during the drive, he said. The average earning of the weavers from 'gamocha' production was Rs 1,350, Kalita said supplementing their regular earnings. Last year, about 45,000 handloom gamochas were sold through the official agencies, the minister said. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 13, 2000)

GUWAHATI, May 13: Banks operating in the Northeastern region have failed to contribute towards uplift of the rural poor as majority of these people continue to borrow from private moneylenders instead of banks. This is a reality in the rural Northeast despite the fact that moneylenders charge exorbitant rate of interest on loan provided to the poor people. As a result the rural folk who borrow from the informal sector, continue to remain poor and indebted to moneylenders. It has come to the light when the Northeastern Institute of Bank Management (NEIBM) conducted a survey recently on 'informal sector lending in Northeast'. The survey has found that the poor borrowers of rural area have a longer association with the moneylenders although, they follow a system of borrowing and repaying on short term basis. The average period of loan repayment is one year. The interest is collected periodically and instalments are fixed irrespective of borrowers convenience. Surprisingly, the borrowers are not aware of terms and conditions of loan taken from the moneylender. Moneylenders in rural areas of the Northeast charge such high interest rate that the interest amount is often more than the principal amount. This means the rate is as high as eight per cent per month or 96 per cent per year. Still the rural people most of whom are illiterate or semi-literate, prefer to borrow from the moneylender for reasons that no formality is involved in the process, purpose of loan is immaterial to the moneylender, money is available even in odd hours and is given in just few minutes, the moneylender is usually a local person who speaks in the local language and he maintains a friendly relations with the vulnerable poor villager. So, the rural poor finds it more comfortable to borrow from the moneylender although they hardly know at what cost the money is obtained. As per the NEIBM survey, the reasons given by the poor people in rural areas for not preferring to borrow from the bank include : Borrowing from the bank is time consuming, bank procedures are complex and all Greek to the illiterate or semi-literate poor man, poor and illiterate people are not considered for bank finance, the rural poor people are under impression that banks are meant for the rich only. But the survey has found that relatively rich farmers in rural areas who have borrowed from the banks at least for once, are no longer willing to borrow from the bank in future for following reasons : Banks first ask to deposit money and then agree to sanction loans, Banks do not explain formalities in convincing manner, Banks ask for rich guarantors for sanctioning loans; For rich people, a good treatment is given in banks but poor are ignored. Regarding future strategies to bring the rural poor from the clutch of private moneylenders to the fold of the bank, the NEIBM survey report suggests that first the banks with the help of panchayats should prepare a village-wise list of borrowers who belong to below poverty line (BPL) category and are at present borrowing from a moneylender. This will help create a data bank on rural people being exploited by moneylenders. Thereafter, banks, development agencies and NGOs have a vital role to play in counselling these borrowers to prevent them from going to moneylenders. There should be local specific loan schemes relating to farm and non-farm activities. Since the rural poor is not much educated in banking aspects some assistance should be provided filling up loan application form. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 14, 2000)

NEW DELHI, May 14: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has severely reprimanded the Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (BRPL) for making an unrealistic supply commitment to National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) that resulted in an avoidable loss to the tune of Rs 3.19 crore. The CAG report tabled in the Parliament, turning down all arguments put up by the management of the public sector oil company as untenable, has said that it has referred the matter to the Union petroleum and natural gas ministry and a reply is still awaited. The CAG's admonition has come at a time, when the Union Cabinet is all set to consider the petroleum's ministry's proposal for merger of BRPL with Indian Oil Corporation. The selling of government stakes in BRPL to IOC has been justified on the ground that major problems being faced by the petrochemical unit like availability of crude and a countrywide marketing network would be taken care of by the merger. Meanwhile, the CAG reported that in November 1995, BRPL entered into a contract with NALCO for supply of 30000 MT calcined petroleum coke (CPC) with a deadline for supply by September 1996 at a total firm price of Rs 16.24 crore. However, against the commitment of supplying 30000 MT of CPC, BRPL supplied only 19565 MT by the scheduled date, leaving a balance quantity of 10435 MT. The company stated that the balance quantity could not be delivered due to production problems arising out repeated breakdown of coke calcinations unit. In October, the next year, BRPL sought for an extension of the delivery schedule till March 1997. NALCO agreed but rescheduled the delivery period till December 1996 subject to continuous supply of CPC. NALCO, however, rejected the BRPL's plea for increase in price of Rs 6914 per MT, pointing out that the contract price was firm. The CAG reported that despite repeated promises by BRPL to supply the balance quantity from September 1996 onwards, it did not supply the required quantity to NALCO although it was in a position to do so considering its stock and production levels. After expiry of the extended period, NALCO exercised its option for procurement of balance quantity of CPC from other sources, after serving due notice on BRPL at the risk and cost of the company in terms of the default clause in the purchase order. NALCO claimed Rs 3.19 crore being the additional expenditure excluding interests. Meanwhile, NALCO also encashed the bank gurantee for Rs 1.62 crore as BRPL was not agreeable to pay the risk purchase claim. The case was under arbitration. The above situation would not have arisen had the initial offer of the company been for a realistic supply of 20000 MT of CPC instead of the imprudent contractual commitment of 30000 MT keeping in view its past production experience, the CAG remarked. The management of BRPL claimed that considering the stock position and the past production performance, the company was justified in submitting quotation for supply 30000 MT of CPC to NALCO. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 15, 2000)

NEW DELHI, May 15: The Union petroleum and natural gas ministry today ruled out the shifting of the Oil India Limited (OIL) headquarters from New Delhi to Assam, arguing that the registered office of the OIL company was already located at Duliajan in the state. This was stated by Union minister of state for Petroleum and Natural Gas Santosh Kumar Gangwar in a written reply to a question tabled by Tarun Gogoi. The Union minister, in another reply, said that the Numaligarh Refinery has been able to spend only Rs 1,679 crore of the Rs 2,019 crore sanctioned for increasing its refining capacity. (Staff Correspondent; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 16, 2000)

AGARTALA, May 15: The Union government has taken several steps to increase border trade with Bangladesh and Myanmar. Official sources said here yesterday that the border township of Moreh (Manipur), Dawki (Meghalaya), Zokhawthar (Mizoram) and Suterkhandi (Assam) land customs stations (LCS) would be developed over the next two years at a total cost of Rs 20 crore. The sources said under the critical infrastructure balance scheme, so far 13 projects had been sanctioned for Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. The projects include development of roads, improvement of power supply to exporting units, installation of weight bridges at LCS, construction of composite building and establishment of a trade centre. Altogether six national highways (NH 31, 40, 51, 62, 44 and 39) in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Manipur connecting neighbouring countries were being maintained. National highway from Karimganj town to Suterkhandi (Assam) on Indo-Bangladesh border with Assam was declared a national highway 51 while the Assam-Agartala national highway (NH 44) had been extended to the border town of Sabroom in South Tripura. An empowered committee had been set up to examine the recommendations made by the inter-ministerial task force on border trade and inter-country trade issues in the Northeast. The department of Commerce has commissioned a transport optimisation study in the Northeast region, through Rail India Technical and Economic Consultancy Services (RITES). Meanwhile, Union Environment and Forests minister TR Baalu recently told a delegation headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister E K Mawlong that following recommendation of the ministry of environment and forests, the Union government had allowed export of 50 lakh pieces of muli-Bamboo to Bangladesh from the north eastern states. Baalu informed the Meghalaya Chief Minister that permission for setting up of 12 industrial estates had been given to Meghalaya and the proposal for seven more industrial estates would be considered expeditiously. The Supreme Court had earlier directed relocation of all wood-based industries to industrial estate approved by the ministry of environment and forests. (UNI; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 16, 2000)

AZARA, May 14: Rs 7-crore financial aid will be provided to Assam Agricultural University by the ICAR for the development of horticultural crops in the region. This was announced by SP Ghose, DDG (Horticulture), ICAR, New Delhi and Namputtri, Director, CPCRI, Kassaragot, Kerala during a recent visit to the Horticulture Research Station, Kahikuchi. They held a series of discussions with the scientists of HRS about the problems and prospects of horticultural crops in the Northeast Region. During their visit, chief scientist, HRS, NK Mohan, also organised a scientist-farmer interaction in presence of DDG Horticulture) at Kahikuchi where flower-growers from Hajo, orange-growers from Boko and vegetable-growers from Dharapur participated in the programme. DDG Ghose stressed on the need for use of grafted seedling instead of seedling propagated from seeds of orange for better production and protection against citrus decline. (Staff Reporter; The Assam Tribune; Guwahati; May 16, 2000)