Ravaged by floods annually which drain out enormous resources, cash-starved Assam is crying fowl against the Centre for allegedly not releasing funds to the state for flood control measures for the last two years.

The state has been hit by floods ever since the monsoon arrived.

State Water Resources Minister Nurzamal Sarkar claims that despite several requests the Centre had not released a single paise since the Congress government came to power in the state, affecting several flood control projects.

"Due to non release of funds for flood management, schemes under the Central Loan Assistance (CLA), the entire programme came to a grinding halt," Sarkar told PTI in Guwahati.

About 39 important and critical flood management schemes were costing around Rs 3crore (Rs 30million) had suffered while no new schemes could be taken up, he says.

Around 32 other schemes of less than Rs 3 crore were lying incomplete at different stages due to lack of funds while under the non-lapsable central pool of resources 25 schemes from the prime minister's package were ignored for lack of adequate funds, the minister says.

He alleged that Union Minister of State for Water Resources Bijoya Chakravarty, who is from Assam, had also not helped despite making promises during her visit to flood affected areas.

Sarkar claims that after his assuming office in May 2001, his department tried its best to adopt schemes to benefit thousands of people rendered homeless by floods, an annual feature in the state.

"The strategy adopted was to pursue the release funds with the appropriate ministry and the Planning Commission. After a lot of persuasion, Rs 39crore (Rs 390million) was released from the non-lapsable pool," he says.

The state water resources department had already submitted a comprehensive plan for flood management schemes with 39 ongoing schemes and 15 new schemes with a total outlay of Rs 209crore (Rs 2.09billion), he said.

The government had also submitted, he added, a memorandum to the Planning Commission for release of Rs 29crore (Rs 290million) as one time additional central assistance for completion of 32 schemes.

Despite shortage of funds, the government had taken bold steps to mitigate the suffering of the people from its own available resources and taken up major protection works in the state, he says.

Among them were the schemes to protect Jorhat town at the cost of Rs 31crore (Rs310million), strengthening of Dibrugarh town - Rs 6.25crore (62.5million), Goalpara town - Rs 4crore (Rs 40million), Dhubri town - Rs 4 crore (Rs 40million) and Guwahati city - Rs 10crore (Rs 100million).

During the year 2002-2003, the government assigned top priority to plug and undertake major repairs of damaged embankments (118) and sanctioned Rs 30.72crore (Rs 307.2million) for the same, the minister says.

In the joint river commission sector, Sarkar says, two ongoing schemes were taken up for protecting the riverine Indo-Bangladesh border in Karimganj district.

The North Eastern Council had also taken up one scheme for protection of a section of National Highway 44 at Longai River in Karimganj district.

"Assam's economy is mostly agrarian and largely dependant on flood management and considering the magnitude of the problem the state government is seriously persuading the Centre to declare it a national problem so that the solution to the vexed issue is planned and financed by the Union government," he adds.

More reports from Assam