Assam Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Pijush Hazarika on Tuesday, 28 July chaired two high-level review meetings at Janata Bhawan in Dispur, assessing the state's irrigation expansion roadmap and directing officials to accelerate relief measures for farmers hit by recent floods across four Upper Assam districts. The back-to-back sessions covered both long-term infrastructure modernisation and immediate crop-loss assistance for flood-affected cultivators in Charaideo, Sivasagar, Jorhat, and Golaghat.

Irrigation Infrastructure Push

During the Irrigation Department review, Hazarika took stock of efforts to secure externally aided projects, with particular attention to the proposed Assam Integrated Resilient and Reliable Irrigation for Growth and Agriculture Transformation project. He instructed officials to fast-track implementation procedures to modernise the state's irrigation network and expand assured irrigation coverage.

Officials informed the meeting that Assam holds an ultimate irrigation potential of 27.46 lakh hectares. The proposed initiatives are designed to improve water management and raise agricultural productivity across the state — a significant gap that the government is now seeking external funding to bridge.

Flood Relief for Upper Assam Farmers

In a separate session with senior Agriculture Department officials, Hazarika reviewed the relief response for farmers in the four flood-hit districts. He directed the department to ensure the timely distribution of paddy seeds and seedlings (kathiya) so that cultivation is not delayed once floodwaters recede — a critical window for farmers to salvage the kharif season.

The Minister also instructed officials to facilitate prompt disbursal of benefits under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) to all eligible farmers who have suffered crop losses, underscoring that insurance payouts must not be held up by procedural delays.

Ground-Level Oversight Ordered

To tighten monitoring of relief operations, Hazarika directed the senior-most Secretary of the Agriculture Department to visit the flood-affected districts on Wednesday and personally oversee the implementation of assistance measures on the ground. The directive signals a shift from administrative review to field accountability.

Hazarika also announced that he would personally visit the affected districts after the conclusion of the ongoing Budget Session of the Assam Assembly to assess the ground situation and the progress of relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Broader Commitment to Farm Resilience

Reaffirming the state government's commitment to the farming community, Hazarika said that sustained investments in irrigation infrastructure, combined with timely relief and rehabilitation, would strengthen Assam's agricultural sector and improve its resilience against recurring natural disasters. This comes amid a broader pattern of annual flood disruption in Upper Assam, where the Brahmaputra and its tributaries regularly inundate farmland during the monsoon season, eroding crop yields and farmer incomes year after year.