‘Real questions unanswered’: Gaurav Gogoi hits out at Centre over Majuli erosion crisis

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi has criticised the Centre’s response to the worsening erosion crisis in Assam, saying a reply from the Ministry of Jal Shakti has failed to address key concerns over the collapse of riverbank protection projects in Majuli.

Gogoi had written to Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil on June 24, seeking urgent intervention in Majuli and other erosion-hit areas of Upper Assam. Nearly seven weeks later, he said the ministry’s response had left crucial questions about accountability and long-term protection unanswered.

According to Gogoi, the minister’s reply acknowledged that 3.3 km of a 7.2-km GeoBag protection embankment at Bhakat Chapori had been washed away by floods.

He also pointed to the Kordoiguri project, another recently completed erosion-control project in one of Majuli’s worst-affected areas. Gogoi said around 1 km of the protection work was affected after a shift in the river channel.

“Both projects failed to serve the very purpose they were built for,” Gogoi said in a post on August 19.

He questioned why the ministry’s response did not specify the corrective measures taken at the affected sites or lay out a credible long-term plan to prevent further erosion.

In his June letter, Gogoi had urged the ministry to send a high-level technical team to assess the erosion situation, conduct a review of Brahmaputra Board projects implemented over the past two decades and fix accountability for failed or ineffective works.

He had also sought permanent riverbank protection measures at vulnerable locations including Kordoiguri, Bhakat Chapori, Mohorichuk, Charigharia and Missamora, besides asking the minister to visit Assam and meet affected communities.

Gogoi said recurring floods and erosion had caused severe hardship to people in Majuli and Upper Assam, and accused the government of showing a “lackadaisical attitude” towards the crisis.

“The people of Assam have suffered enough from recurring floods and erosion,” he said, adding that the ministry’s reply did not inspire confidence in the seriousness with which the Brahmaputra Board was addressing the problem.