The MBDA (Meghalaya Basin Development Authority) was set up in April, 2012. It is headed by the Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya. The MBDA has identified that natural resources and river basins provide ideal opportunities for providing multi-livelihoods to people in the rural areas. It is no secret that the poorer sections of the rural community have hardly had a stake in the village economy. They have often been left out of the loop of development and this has pushed them to the brink of impoverishment. For mere survival, they have had to exploit the environment around them to eke out a bare subsistence. They have barely been able to voice the grievances that they have to live with each day. MBDA seeks out to redress these problems and lend a voice to those that have not been heard. Not only is the MBDA concerned with poverty alleviation but in order to achieve this it must make sure that it done without degradation to the environment. A livelihood thus comprises the capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources), and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base.