Lok Sabha Question No. 2913 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-05
Subject: Increased Risk of Flood
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Rajiv Pratap Rudy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES,

RIVER DEVELOPMENT &

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2913

ANSWERED ON 05.08 .2021

## INCREASED RISK OF FL OOD

## 2913. SHRI RAJIV PRATAP RUDY

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is true that the country has been facing an increased risk of flood during the

(b) if so, the details of the States that suffered the maximum loss due to flood;

(c) whether the Government h as plans to construct, enhance and upgrade stormwater drain systems t increase flood resilience; and

(d) if so, the details thereof along with the details of plans for mitigation of flood on Gan Kosi rivers in Bihar?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES

## ( SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL )

(a)Central  Water  Commission  (CWC)  is  the  nodal  Organisation  entrusted  with  the  task  of forecasting  & early  flood  warnings  in  the  country.  Presently,  CWC  issues  flood  forecasts forecasting stations (198 river level forecast stations & 132 dam/ barrage inflow forecast s stations cover 20 major river basins in 23 States & 2 Union Terr itories. As per flood forecasting networ of CWC, during the last 3 years, in addition to existing flood prone states of Assam, Bih Pradesh, extreme floods (water level above previous Highest Flood Level) were witnessed in t Kerala, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, M Pradesh and Rajasthan due to excess to large excess rainfall in these states combined wit heavy rainfall in short duration.

(b) Central Water Commission (CWC) maintains the flood damage data of the country and as per flood damage data compiled by CWC, maximum damages due to floods during the years 2017 to are in the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Prad sh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka.

(c)Urban planning being a State subject, management of urban flooding and maintenance of d systems falls under the purview of the respective State/ UT governments, Urban Local Bodie and  Urban  Devel opment  Authorities.  For  the  guidance  of  the  State/  UT  Governments,  Minist Housing   and   Urban   Affairs   has   issued Urban and RegionalDevelopment Plans Formulation and

GANGA REJUVENATION

Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines, 2014 by integrating the guidelines on mitigation, prevention preparedness  for  urban  flooding  issued  by  the  National  Disaster  Management  Authority.  Min Housing and Urban Affairs has also issued Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Urban Floo 2017. The SOP lays down, in a comprehensive manner, the specific actions required to be unde the  ULBs,  District  Administration  and  the  State  Government.  Further,  the  Ministry  has  pu Manual on Storm Water Drainage Systems, 2019 to provide gu idance on sustainable design, planning& management of storm water drainage systems and emergency plan for flood response in urban Above  documents  are  in  public  domain  and  available  on  website  of  Ministry  of  Housing  and Affairs.

(d)  Fl ood management and anti - erosion schemes are planned, investigated and implemented by St Governments  with  their  own  resources  as  per  their  priority.  The  Union  Government  suppleme efforts  of  the  States  by  providing  technical  guidance  and  promotiona l  financial  assistance  for management of floods in critical areas. The Government of India has been making continuous efforts assist the State Governments in effective flood management. As a part of structural measures, d uring XI Plan Government of Indi a had launched Flood Management Programme (FMP) for providing Central Assistance  to  States  for  works  related  to  river  management,  flood  control,  anti - erosion,  drainage development, anti - sea  erosion, etc. which continued during XII Plan and thereafter as a compon nt of "Flood Management and Border Areas Programme" (FMBAP) for the period from 2017 - 18 to 2020 - 21.

A total of 522 flood management projects with an estimated cost of Rs.13238.36 cro approved  and  included  under  FMP  during  XI  and  XII  Plan.  S ince  start  of  XI  Plan,  total  Centra Assistance released to States under FMP up till March, 2021 is Rs.6447.76 crores. Out of schemes, 415 schemes have been completed which have given protection to an area of around 4. and protected a popu lation of about 52.21 million. Main reason for floods in the State of Bihar is account of increased discharge in rivers of North Bihar like Gandak, Burhi Gandak and Bagmat Kosi and Mahananda due to heavy rainfall in the upper catchment areas wh ich mainly lie in Nepal. The management of floods due to these rivers has been a concern. The related issues are discu existing Indo - Nepal bilateral mechanisms comprising of (i) Joint Ministerial Level Commission o Resources (JMCWR) (ii) Joint Committee on Water Resources (JCWR) (iii) Joint Standing Techni Committee (JSTC), (iv) Joint Committee on Gandak & Kosi Projects (JCKGP) and  (v) Joint Comm on Inundation and Flood management (JCIFM). Government of India is having regular dia logue with the Government of Nepal for construction of dams on border Rivers for mutual benefit of the two which includes flood control.

Flood forecasting is considered as one of the most cost effective non - structural measure for floodmanagem ent.The roleplayed by CWC in this regard has already been elucidated under part

CWC  is  formulating  5  day  advisories  for flood using  real  time  rainfall  estimates  and  5  day  rain forecast  through  Numerical  Weather  Prediction  models  being  shared  by  IMD  on  a  seamless  f Mathematical model has been used for formulation of advisories and these advisories are s stake holders  using  dedicated  website.  At  present,  CWC  has  40  level  forecasting  stati villages/towns on the bank of the  rivers) and 3 in flow forecasting stations (for Dams/ Barrages) in the State  of  Bihar.  During  monsoon  season  of  year  2020  ending  31 st December    2020,  a  total  of  3223 forecasts have been issued for  Bihar State out of  which 3192 have been found to be within limit which works out to 99.04%.

In Bihar, the details of level and inflow forecasting stations on Rivers Ganga, Gandak and Kosi are as below:

| River   | Level forecast stations                                                             | Inflow forecast   |
|---------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
| Ganga   | 1. Buxar 2. Dighaghat 3. Gandhighat 4. Hathidah 5. Munger 6. Bhagalpur 7. Kahalgaon | Nil               |
| Gandak  | 1. Chatia 2. Rewaghat 3. Hazipur 4. Dumariaghat                                     | Gandak Barrage    |
| Kosi    | 1. Basua 2. Baltara 3. Kursela                                                      | KosiBarrage       |

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