Ranjeet Dass bats for unified agriculture & irrigation ministry amid drought concerns

Jorhat, July 24: Amid Assam's ongoing dry spell—with five districts in western Assam officially declared drought-hit—Cabinet Minister Ranjeet Dass has proposed merging the state’s agriculture and irrigation departments.

Speaking at a departmental review meeting in Jorhat on Wednesday, Dass asserted that both departments should be brought under a single minister to ensure coordinated planning and execution.

"At present, the bifurcation of these departments is causing operational delays. If one minister is made responsible for both irrigation and agriculture, they would have a complete understanding of the challenges and can provide integrated solutions. I had placed this proposal before the former Chief Minister and have also shared it with our current Chief Minister,” Dass said.

He also suggested appointing an additional Chief Secretary to the department to streamline operations.

Dass’s remarks come at a critical time, as 27 districts in Assam are facing an acute rainfall deficit, severely impacting agricultural productivity.

“We are already witnessing the consequences of uncoordinated efforts in tackling the drought. A unified approach is the need of the hour,” he added.

Earlier this week, the Chief Minister declared five districts—Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Dhubri, Baksa, and Bongaigaon—as drought-hit.

The announcement followed alarming data from the India Meteorological Department and the Central Ground Water Board, which revealed a 40% rainfall deficit in these regions.

The issue has been escalated to the Centre, with Agriculture Minister Atul Bora meeting Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in New Delhi on Tuesday.

“The discussions were fruitful. The Union Ministry has assured us of full cooperation, and we are hopeful that our challenges will be addressed soon. The Union Minister has also agreed to visit Assam to assess the situation firsthand,” Bora said after the meeting.

This year, despite an early onset of the monsoon, Assam recorded a 34% rainfall deficit in June — the first month of the season.

Against the normal average of 415.2 mm, the State received just 272 mm of rainfall during the month.

Worsening the outlook, the IMD, in its long-range forecast, had already predicted below-normal rainfall for the Northeast this monsoon season.