NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has constituted a high-level group chaired by Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz to evolve a consensus between Arunachal Pradesh and Assam on setting up a North-East Water Resources Authority (NEWRA).

The Group will comprise the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and the Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam. The high-level group will submit its report within a month.

The NEWRA was conceived for overseeing the utilisation of the hydropower potential of Arunachal Pradesh and for the integrated development of the North-East region including flood control.

However, Arunachal Pradesh expressed reservations about the formation of NEWRA. The State has planned at least six multipurpose dams on the Brahmaputra and its tributary, Subansiri.

The major dams are being constructed by private developers without priority for flood control, sources said.

The Brahmaputra is a common river between Arunachal Pradesh and Assam with perennial flooding problem.

The NEWRA will take into account the development of all Brahmaputra basin States with regard to power generation and creation of flood cushions in projects that are built upstream.

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