India has tied up with Japan for a technology to be used in preventing soil erosion in rivers and other water bodies, union minister of state for water resources Vincent H Pala has said.

The modern technique known as 'Fabrifoam' will help maintain water resources of the country, Pala said on the sidelines of a function here yesterday.

'Fabrifoam' is a kind of synthetic carpet that has to be laid out on river sides and embankments to prevent erosion besides other related problems.

Though expensive, it is supposed to last around 100 years, Pala said.

In Meghalaya, the project, Detailed Project Report (DPR) of which is under preparation, will be first implemented in the Shillong Cantonment Board areas before extending it to other areas of the state, Pala said.

Meanwhile, the detailed project report (DPR) for cleaning the polluted Umiam Lake has been turned down by the Union Finance Ministry.

"The DPR for the Rs 52 crore de-silting project has been submitted but the finance ministry has raised some objection," the union minister said.

The project was initiated for conservation of the Umiam lake from pollution and its management, de-silting it, besides other mitigation measures through the ministry of water resources.