World Bank official Karin E. Kemper in Guwahati on Wednesday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Nov. 9: The World Bank is preparing a strategic vision document for the development and management of water and natural resources in the Northeast for sustainable growth.

The DoNER ministry, in collaboration with the World Bank, is organising a workshop tomorrow to get views from government officials on the development of water resources in the region.

Karin Kemper, water resources specialist with the South Asia environment and social unit of the World Bank, in a presentation, said here today that the document is expected to be ready by the middle of next year.

After going through a series of consultations with officials and stakeholders, the bank will develop a framework to identify and prioritise high return investments in physical and institutional infrastructure.

The bank and the DoNER ministry are jointly carrying out a study ? natural resources, water and the environment nexus for development and growth in Northeast India ? to prepare the vision document.

A two-day workshop is being held tomorrow, which will be attended by senior government officials.

The Centre wants the World Bank to focus on development in the Northeast. At present, only three per cent of the bank?s funds meant for India is allotted to the Northeast.

The focus of the study is on water and forests and the political institutional framework dealing with their management. The Brahmaputra and Barak basins would be studied closely.

?It will help us enhance our knowledge base about water, natural resources and its nexus in the Northeast,? Kemper said.

She said the potential benefits from improved water development and management would lead to improvement of the base conditions in the power sector and other industries.

She pointed out that there are many different administrative entities involved in policy setting, investments and enforcement for both water and forest sectors, which will have to be looked before preparation of a strategic vision document.

Bank officials said the preparatory studies are ongoing for the proposed Assam state highway project which is expected to start in 2006.

The tentative cost of the project is Rs 1,220 crore in the first phase and Rs 1,500 crore in the second. The public works department will implement the project.

The possible components of the project are road improvement in 1,200-km high-priority core network and replacement of existing timber bridges with new ones.