Lok Sabha Question No. 4091 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-19
Subject: River Bank Erosion in West Bengal
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Md Abu Taher Khan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4091

ANSWERED ON 19.12.2024

## RIVER BANK EROSION IN WEST BENGAL

## 4091.    MD ABU TAHER KHAN

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  Murshidabad  is  perennially  affected  by  floods  and  river  bank erosion of the River Ganges and River Padma;

(b) if so, whether the Government has a plan to recognize the said river bank erosion as a calamity and if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;

(c) whether the Government has taken cognizance that floods come twice or thrice a year and go away but the erosion actually gobbles up large areas of cultivable land;

(d) if so, the action taken/likely to be taken by the Government in this regard;

(e) whether the Government has noticed that West Bengal has lost hectares of land due to land erosion and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken/being taken by the Government in this regard; and

(f)  the  details  of  the  funds  provided/likely  to  be  provided  to  prevent  cultivable  land  from  erosion  in  West Bengal?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) to (f) The country faces the problem of flood and erosion in varying degrees in different parts including Murshidabad district in the state of West Bengal. Erosion, movement and deposition of sediment in river are natural regulating functions of a river. Rivers tend to maintain a balance between the silt load carried & silt load deposited, maintaining a river regime.

The primary responsibility for disaster management rests with the State Governments concerned. The Central Government provides requisite logistics and financial support to the efforts of the State Governments. The  State  Governments  provide  financial  relief  to  the  affected  people  in  the  event  of  12  notified  natural disasters which includes flood, from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF), already placed at its disposal, in accordance with approved norms of Government of India. However, in the event of disaster of a severe nature, additional financial assistance is extended from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF), as per laid down procedure, which includes an assessment based on the visit of an Inter- Ministerial Central Team (IMCT).

Central  Water  Commission  has  carried  out  a  morphological  study  of  Ganga  river  using  Remote Sensing Techniques for the period 1970 - 2010, through IIT Roorkee indicating erosion of 4289.32 hectares and  deposition  of  724  hectares  in  a  reach  of  50  km  in  the  upstream  of  Farakka  Barrage  in  Murshidabad District.

As per the request of State Government of West Bengal, a Committee comprising members from the State Government of West Bengal and concerned Central Government Departments, under the chairmanship of Chairman, Central Water Commission, has been constituted by the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation to undertake a joint detailed technical study for an integrated plan to combat the threat of erosion posed by Ganga-Padma river in the District of Malda, Murshidabad & Nadia in West Bengal.

Government of India had implemented Flood Management Programme (FMP) during XI & XII Plan for providing Central Assistance to States for works related to river management, flood control, anti-erosion, drainage  development,  anti-sea  erosion,  etc.  which  subsequently  continued  as  a  component  of  "Flood Management and Border Areas Programme" (FMBAP) for the period from 2017-18 to 2020-21 and further extended up to 2026. Total Central Assistance amounting to Rs 1051.96 Cr. has been released to the State of West Bengal since its inception under FMP component of FMBAP .

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