Lok Sabha Question No. 772 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-05
Subject: High Risk Flood Areas
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Sisir Kumar Adhikari

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 772

TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.02.2021

## High Risk Flood Areas

## 772. SHRI SISIR KUMAR ADHIKARI:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a)      whether the Indian cities along coastal areas are at high risks flood zone due   to faster rising sea levels;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has made any survey/ report in this regard;
- (d) if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) the corrective measures taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE  MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

(a) and (b) According to the information received from the Ministry of Earth Sciences, sea level rise is a slow phenomenon and varies globally depending on local site factors. Recent studies by Indian scientists find that the trend in sea level rise is about 1.3mm/year along the Indian coasts during the last 40-50 years.

(c) and (d) A wide range of coastal vulnerability maps on different spatial scales have been generated  for the entire coast of India by  various agencies primarily for  providing forewarning of various ocean hazards viz., tsunami, cyclone-related storm surges. An atlas on Coastal  Vulnerability  Index  (CVI)  on  a  1:1,00,000  scale  has  been  prepared  for  the  entire Indian  coast.  On  a  pilot  scale,  3-Dimensional  Geographical  Information  System  (3D  GIS) maps for the coastal stretch between Cuddalore and Nagapattinam have been completed in association with industry partners. A set of shoreline change maps have been prepared for the entire  country  on  a  1:25000  scale  to  assess  the  erosion  and  sediment  deposition  rates.  A National  Centre  for  Sustainable  Coastal  Management  (NCSCM)  has  been  established  by MoEFCC  in  Chennai  to  promote  research  and  development  in the area of coastal management  including  demarcation  of  hazard  line  for  mapping  the  entire  coastline  of mainland India.

(e)  The  Government  has  taken  a  number  of  initiatives  to  protect  India's  coastal  areas  and coastal communities, which include:

| (i)        | Under the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) project of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the 'Erosion line' is projected to the next 100 years based on the annual rate of erosion computed from high-resolution aerial photographs and satellite images and has been delineated over the entire coastline.                   |
|------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| (ii)       | Regulatory measures like the issuance of Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2019 and the Island Protection Zone Notification 2019 to regulate high impact activities on the coast and in maintaining coastal sustainability.                                                                                                                              |
| (iii) (iv) | Formulation of the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP). ICZM Project also includes the development of the Shoreline Management Plans by the State Governments for five coastal stretches namely, Gulf of Kachchh (Gujarat), Gopalpur to Chilika (Odisha), Paradip to Dhamra (Odisha), Digha to Sankarpur (West Bengal) and Sagar Island (West Bengal). |
| (v)        | National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai has implemented two demonstration shore protection projects in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry for beach restoration.                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| (vi)       | The Government has also initiated a project co-funded by the Global Climate Fund (GCF) across the States of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha on enhancing the climate resilience of India's coastal communities in these States.                                                                                                                     |

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