Lok Sabha Question No. 1107 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-02-08
Subject: Siltation in Ganga River
Ministry: WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANAGA REJUVENATION
Asked by: RANJEET RANJAN, RAJESH RANJAN  (PAPPU  YADAV)

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UN STARRED QUESTION NO.

## †1107 ANSWERED ON 08.0 2.201 8

## SILTATION IN GANGA R IVER

## †1107. SHRIMATI RANJEET RANJAN SHRI RAJESH RANJAN

Will the Minister of WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has constituted a committee under the Chairmanship of Madhav C to solve the problem of siltation in the Ganga river from Bhimguda to Farakka and if so, the details thereof along with the recommendations made by the Committee;

(b) the steps taken by the Government to implement the said recommendations;

(c) whether the problem of siltation in the Ganga river has become acute due to the con n of dams and barrages on the river particularly in Bihar due to Farakka Barrage and if so, thereof;

(d) the amount spent till now from the funds allocated under the Namami Gange Mission heads under which this money has been spent, State - wise; and

(e) the number of Sewage Treatment Plants constructed under the Mission along with the st by the Government to comply with the orders of the National Green Tribunal on cleaning of river?

## ANSWER

## THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR WATER  RESOURCES, RIVER  DEVELOPMENT  AND GANGA REJUVENATION & HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

## ( DR. SATYA PAL SINGH )

(a) Yes,Madam. A Committee headed by Shri Madhav Chitale, Expert Member, National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) was constituted in 2016 by the Ministry of Water Resources, Development  &  Ganga  Rejuvenation  for  preparation  of  guidelines  for  works  on  de - siltation  from Bhimgauda  (Uttarakhand)  to  Farakka  (West  Bengal).  The  recommendations  of the  C ommittee  are enclosed as Annexure - I .

(b) The guidelines /recommendations made by the C ommittee have been circulated to the concerned State Governments for necess ary action as the measures for flood management including desilti rivers  are  formulated  by  the  State  Governments  as  per  their  priority.  The  Government supplements  the  efforts  of  State  Governments  by  providing  technical  guidance  and  pro l financial assistance for critical areas.

(c) After  the  floods  of  2016,  as  per  a  Study  carried  out  by  Central  Water  Commissi sedimentation in river Ganga beyond 42 km upstream of Farakka Barrage is not affected by Barrage.Further,  in  this  context,  in  response  to  a  reference  from  State  Government  of Committee to address the issues of floods and siltation in the State of Bihar under the Ch former Chairman, Central Water Commission, (CWC), Shri A.B. Pandy a has been constituted by this Ministry.

(d) The state - wise amount spent till 15.01.2018 under different heads from the funds allocat the Namami Gange Mission is annexed at Annexure - II .

(e) National Mission for Clean Ganga has taken steps to cr ate new sewage treatment capacity and also to rehabilitate/upgrade the existing sewerage infrastructure. Under Namami Gange programme till date a total of 97 sewerage infrastructure projects have been sanctioned out of which 19 been comple ted. Out of 19 completed projects, 12 projects are related to Sewage Treatment Pl In compliance of Hon'ble National Green Tribunal order on cleaning of river Ganga Special C ommittee to  identify  and  demarcate  the  flood  plains  of  river  Ganga  and  Committ ee  to  study  the  minimum required environmental flow of river Ganga have been constituted by the Mission.

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## Annexure referred to part (a) of Unstarred Question No. 1107 to be answered in Lok Sabha 08.02.2018 regarding ' Siltation in Ganga River'

The main recommendations of the committee are as under: -

- (i) Erosion, sediment transport and siltation in large rivers like Ganga are very complex and their estimation has inherent limitations and uncertainties. A reconnaissance of main River Ganga  reveals  that  different  reaches  are  in  a  dynamic  equilibrium  phase.  Sedimen mainly seen downstream of Bhimgauda barrage and near the confluences of tributary riv Ganga.
- (ii) Though de - siltation works can improve hydraulic performance of the river and this itsel justify undertaking de - siltation, these have no direct role in improving environment flow river. On the other hand, indiscriminate de - silting or sand mining would cause adverse impact on river e -flow.
- (iii)River Ganga tends to achieve equilibrium on its own given the hydrology, sediment and bed and bank disposition. It is necessary to provide the river sufficient areas of f lakes along the river to moderate the flood level. Any encroachment of flood plain, reclamati of lakes or disconnection of lakes from river should be avoided; rather lakes/depressions may be de - silted to increase their storage capacities.
- (iv) Comprehensive  Catchment  Area  Treatme nt  and  Watershed  Development  works,  along  with good agricultural practices and river bank protection/anti - erosion works are necessary to reduce silt inflow into the river system.
- (v) Upstream  reaches  of  natural  constriction  works,  like  barrages/bridges,  e tc.,  tend  to  get  silted leading to wandering of river. Possibly river training, cut - off  developments and provision of extra water way near the constrictions could be tried after prop er assessment without impacting the morphology of river elsewhere. Efforts should be made to provide silt continuity along t weirs and barrages.
- (vi) The proposed de - silting of any river reach need to be justified bringing out clearly t caused  due  to  siltation  along  with  technical  comparison  of  the  alternative  flo od  mitigation measures  with  'do  nothing'  or  'proposed  desilting/  dredging'  being  other  options.  It  should invariably  be  associated  with  sediment  flux  studies  and  morphological  studies  to  c significant adverse effect on downstream or upstream reach of the river including the safety an effectiveness of river crossings, water intakes, existing river bank / flood protec etc.

- (vii)Reservoirs  in  main  river  Ganga  and  its  tributaries,  particularly  in  upper  reaches operated in such a manner that first floods, having high silt load, are allowed to p without storage and river flows in later phases of the monsoon are only stored for non- monsoon season. This would require quantitative long term forecast wit h decision support system to be established for optimum reservoir operations.
- (viii) The  proposal  should  also  contain  environmentally  acceptable  and  practically  feas disposal plan. River gravels/sands/silts could be used gainfully in construction works, including housing, roads, embankment and reclamation works. Under no circumstances, disposal create any contamination of the water bodies, harmful to the flora and fauna existing the disposal sites. It should also be ensured that disposed material should not come back into the river again.
- (ix) The dredging/desiltation/mining activities may result into some adverse impacts, i.e bed  degradation;  (b)  Bank  erosion;  (c)  Channel  widening;  (d)  lowering  of  water eleva tions in the river channel; (e) lowering of water table elevation adjacent to t reduction  in  the  structural  integrity  of  bridges,  pipelines,  jetties,  barrages,  we supporting high tension lines, existing bank protection works and other manmade structures; and (g) a loss of environmental values resulting from (a) through (e). As such, restricti enforced before planning and executing any dredging/ de - silting / mining activities.

Annnexure - II

Annexure referred to part (d ) of Unstarred Question No. 1107 to be answered in Lok Sabha on 08.02.2018 regarding ' Siltation in Ganga River'

## Disbursement of funds by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) state - wise Rs. in cr.

| Particulars                                             | Uttarakhand   | Uttar Pradesh   | Bihar   | Jharkhand   | West Bengal   | Delhi   | Haryana   | Madhya Pradesh   | Rajasthan   |
|---------------------------------------------------------|---------------|-----------------|---------|-------------|---------------|---------|-----------|------------------|-------------|
| Externally Aided Projects (EAP) through SPMG            | 6.84          | 580.92          | 116.21  | 25.89       | 120.96        | 11.31   | 0.00      | 0.00             | 0.00        |
| Non - Externally Aided Projects (EAP) through SPMG      | 31.07         | 75.99           | 0.00    | 0.00        | 199.23        | 0.00    | 89.61     | 9.89             | 20.00       |
| National Ganga Plan                                     |               |                 |         |             |               |         |           |                  |             |
| i) Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation              | 22.56         | 370.76          | 79.02   | 27.83       | 77.83         | 0.00    | 0.00      | 0.00             | 0.00        |
| ii) Forest Department                                   | 16.98         | 14.86           | 20.03   | 11.48       | 8.66          | 0.00    | 0.00      | 0.00             | 0.00        |
| iii) Release to State Programme Management Group (SPMG) | 41.11         | 12.18           | 1.20    | 17.35       | 1.10          | 45.20   | 0.00      | 0.00             | 0.00        |
| iv) Release to SPMGs for Forest Department              | 8.50          | 5.61            | 0.00    | 0.00        | 3.48          | 0.00    | 0.00      | 0.00             | 0.00        |
| Ghat Works and Beautification of RFD                    | 17.91         | 0.00            | 0.00    | 0.00        | 0.00          | 0.00    | 0.00      | 0.00             | 0.00        |
| Total                                                   | 144.97        | 1060.32         | 216.46  | 82.55       | 411.26        | 56.51   | 89.61     | 9.89             | 20.00       |