Lok Sabha Question No. 1855 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-28
Subject: Siltation in Rivers
Ministry: WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANAGA REJUVENATION
Asked by: RAJESHBHAI NARANBHAI CHUDASAMA

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1855

ANSWERED ON 28.07.2016

## SILTATION IN RIVERS

## 1855.       SHRI RAJESHBHAI CHUDASAMA

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

(a) whether the National Water Policy, 2012 incorporates directions with regard to the rivers in the country and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government has assessed the rate of siltation in rivers in the country including hilly and plain areas;

(c) if so, the details thereof along with the period fixed for re-assessment of silt speed in rivers;

(d) whether the silt speed has been affected due to construction of dams on these rivers; and

(e) if so, the details along with corrective measures taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

(DR SANJEEV KUMAR BALYAN)

(a) Yes Madam.    The National Water Policy, 2012 has inter-alia provisions with regard to the rivers in the country as enclosed at Annexure-I

(b)  &  (c)    A committee headed by Dr B.K.Mittal,  Former Chairman, Central Water Commission (CWC) had in 2006  studied  the  siltation  pattern  in  few  rivers  in  India  and  concluded  that  siltation  was  not  pronounced  and alarming.   Recently, morphological studies of some Indian rivers have also been awarded by CWC to IIT Roorkee (Ganga, Sharda and Rapti), IIT Delhi (Kosi, Bagmati and Yamuna), IIT Guwahati (Brahmaputra, Subansiri and Pagladia), IIT Madras (Krishna and Tungbhadra), IIT Kharagpur (Mahanadi, Mahananda and Hoogly) and SVNIT Surat (Tapi).

The  Ministry  had  in  May,  2016  constituted  a  Committee  on  Erosion  and  Siltation  in  Rivers  (ECESR)  under Chairmanship  of  Director,  CWPRS,  Pune  to  study  the  problems  of  erosion,  siltation  and  requirement  of  desiltation/dredging of rivers, particularly in Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and suggest remedial measures.

(d) Rivers  carry  silt  load  as  per  their  regime  conditions  i.e.  discharge in  the  river,  river  slope,  morphology, nature of silt etc. The movement of silt in a river is affected due to construction of any barrier like dam across it. However, the rivers pick up and drop their silt load as per their regime condition.

(e) Siltation and erosion is a major problem in Indian rivers leading to loss of land and properties due to river bed/bank erosion and damages due to floods caused by spilling river water as a result of siltation of rivers. Various measures  such  as  catchment  area  treatment,  soil  conservation  measures  such  as  terracing,  bunding,  trenching, vegetative barriers etc are given priority.

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN PART (b) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1855

## FOR ANSWER ON 28.07.2016

## Annexure I

The National Water Policy, 2012 has inter-alia following specific provisions with regard to the rivers in the country:

- Para 2.3 There  is  a  need  for  comprehensive  legislation  for  optimum  development  of  inter-State  rivers  and  river valleys  to  facilitate  inter-State  coordination  ensuring  scientific  planning  of  land  and  water  resources taking basin/sub-basin as unit with unified perspectives of water in all its forms (including precipitation, soil  moisture,  ground  and  surface  water)  and  ensuring  holistic  and  balanced  development  of  both  the catchment  and  the  command  areas.  Such  legislation  needs,  inter  alia,  to  deal  with  and  enable establishment of basin authorities, comprising party States, with appropriate powers to plan, manage and regulate utilization of water resource in the basins.
- Para 3.3       Ecological needs of the river should be determined, through scientific study, recognizing that the natural river flows  are  characterized  by  low  or  no  flows,  small  floods(freshets),large  floods,  etc.  ,  and  should accommodate developmental needs. A portion of river flows should be kept aside to meet the ecological needs ensuring that the low and high flow releases are proportional to natural flow regime, including base flow contribution in the low flow season through regulated ground water use.
- Para 3.4 Rivers and other water bodies should be considered for development for navigation as far as possible and all multipurpose projects over water bodies should keep navigation in mind right from the planning stage .
- Para 8.1 Conservation  of  rivers,  river  corridors,  water  bodies  and  infrastructure  should  be  undertaken  in  a scientifically  planned  manner  through  community  participation.  The  storage  capacities  of  water  bodies and water courses and/or associated wetlands, the flood plains, ecological buffer and areas required for specific aesthetic recreational and/or social needs may be managed to the extent possible in an integrated manner  to  balance  the  flooding,  environment  and  social  issues  as  per  prevalent  laws  through  planned development of urban areas, in particular .
- Para 8.2 Encroachments and diversion of water bodies (like rivers, lakes, tanks, ponds,etc.) and drainage channels (irrigated area as well as urban area drainage) must not be allowed, and wherever it has taken place, it should be restored to the extent feasible and maintained properly .
- Para  10 . 3            In  order  to  prevent  loss  of  land  eroded  by  river,  which  causes  permanent  loss,  revetments,  spurs, embankments etc, should be planned , executed, monitored and maintained on the basis of morphological studies. This will become increasingly more important, since climate change is likely to increase rainfall intensity, and hence soil erosion.
- Para 13. Even while accepting the principle of basin as a unit of development, on the basis of practicability and easy implementability,  efforts  should  be  made  to  enter  into  12  international  agreements  with  neighbouring countries  on  bilateral  basis  for  exchange  of  hydrological  data  of  international  rivers  on  near  real  time basis.
- Para 13.2          Negotiations about sharing and management of water of international rivers should be done on bilateral basis in consultative association with riparian States keeping paramount the national interest. Adequate institutional arrangements at the Center should be set up to implement international agreements.

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