The Union ministry of environment and forest has a similar agency with same name which has a centre in the state. But forest officials said that the state wildlife crime control bureau will have separate manpower and will function under the state government.

Taking a potshot against opposition political parties, the chief minister accused them of politicizing the recent rhino killings instead of helping the cause of conservation. He conceded that the spurt in rhino killings in the last week was indeed a serious issue and called for strong measures to curb poaching activities.

"But the opposition parties exploited the rhino killings to gain political mileage. We are equally concerned about the spurt in the killings and are seriously thinking how we can stop the menace. Instead of helping in conservation, the opposition parties were busy in politicizing the issue. We are against politicizing issues like rhino poaching," he said.

Gogoi added that the populations of rhinos, tigers and elephants have increased during the three consecutive terms of the Congress government, and said he would soon come out with a white paper on what his government has done and achieved on the wildlife conservation front.

The chief minister said that erosion caused major havoc in the latest wave of floods. He informed that the Centre has proposed setting up of the Brahmaputra River Valley Authority (BRVA) in place of the Brahmaputra Board to deal with water management in the northeast.

"Assam is in favour of the BRVA. The proposal was made by the Centre. The water resources minister will chair the body and chief ministers of northeastern states will be vice-chairmen," Gogoi informed.