Lok Sabha Question No. 1706 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-10
Subject: Vulnerability of Coastal Region to Flood and Sea Level Rise
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar, Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske, Shri Shrirang Appa Chandu Barne

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1706 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 10 th  DECEMBER, 2025

## VULNERABILITY OF COASTAL REGION TO FLOOD AND SEA LEVEL RISE

## 1706. SHRI SHRIRANG APPA CHANDU BARNE: SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE: SHRI RAVINDRA DATTARAM WAIKAR: DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has assessed the vulnerability of coastal homes, towns and infrastructure to flooding and sea-level rise due to climate change, glacial melt and extreme weather events and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise;
- (b) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  strengthen  coastal  resilience,  including construction  of  flood  barriers, embankments,  drainage  systems  and  early  warning mechanisms in vulnerable coastal areas;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  incorporated  climate-resilient  town  planning  and building regulations for new coastal developments to prevent recurrent flooding and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the measures undertaken to monitor and mitigate the impact of melting glaciers on river flow, coastal flooding and sedimentation patterns that threaten  human settlements; and
- (e) whether  the  Union  Government  has  collaborated  with  State  Governments,  local bodies, and scientific institutions to create a disaster-resilient infrastructure plan for coastal towns, including relocation or retrofitting of high-risk homes and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a) Yes  Sir.  Indian  National  Centre  for  Ocean  Information  Services  (INCOIS),  an autonomous  institute  under  Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences  has  carried  out  Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) mapping to assess the probable implications of sea-level rise  along  the  Indian  coast.  This  exercise  has  generated  maps  using  seven  input parameters:  shoreline  change  rate,  sea-level  change  rate,  coastal  elevation,  coastal slope,  coastal  geomorphology,  significant  wave  height  and  tidal  range.  An  atlas comprising 156 maps of the entire Indian coast on a 1:1 lakh scale was released in 2012.  Further,  studies  have  been  done  on  Multi  Hazard  Vulnerability  Mapping  to identify potential areas of coastal inundation for the mainland of India at a 1:25000

scale using data on extreme water levels, coastal erosion, sea-level change and highresolution topography. In addition, National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), an attached office of Ministry of Earth Sciences has undertaken assessment of sea erosion and identified coastal areas along India's coastline subjected to sea erosion since 1990. A report  on  "National  Assessment  of  Shoreline  Changes  along  Indian  Coast"  was released  in  July  2018  and  the  report  was  shared  with  various  Central  and  State Government  agencies  and  stakeholders for implementing  shoreline protection measures. An updated version of the Atlas, along with a digital version of the report, containing all the maps, was released on 25th March 2022. The state-wise details of erosion (1990-2018) are given in the below table:

| 1990 - 2018   | 1990 - 2018   | 1990 - 2018    | 1990 - 2018          | 1990 - 2018      | 1990 - 2018   |
|---------------|---------------|----------------|----------------------|------------------|---------------|
| Sl No         | State         |                | Coast Length (in km) | Coast length Km) | (in           |
|               |               |                |                      | Erosion          | Erosion       |
|               |               |                |                      | Km               | %             |
| 1             | West Coast    | Gujarat        | 1945.6               | 537.5            | 27.6          |
| 2             | West Coast    | Daman &Diu     | 31.83                | 11.02            | 34.6          |
| 3             | West Coast    | Maharashtra    | 739.57               | 188.26           | 25.5          |
| 4             | West Coast    | Goa            | 139.64               | 26.82            | 19.2          |
| 5             | West Coast    | Karnataka      | 313.02               | 74.34            | 23.7          |
| 6             | West Coast    | Kerala         | 592.96               | 275.33           | 46.4          |
| 7             | East Coast    | Tamil Nadu     | 991.47               | 422.94           | 42.7          |
| 8             | East Coast    | Puducherry     | 41.66                | 23.42            | 56.2          |
| 9             | East Coast    | Andhra Pradesh | 1027.58              | 294.89           | 28.7          |
| 10            | East Coast    | Odisha         | 549.5                | 140.72           | 25.6          |
| 11            | East Coast    | West Bengal    | 534.35               | 323.07           | 60.5          |
| Total         | Total         | Total          | 6907.18              | 2318.31          | 2318.31       |
| %             | %             | %              | %                    | 33.6             | 33.6          |

- (b) & (c)  The Flood Management Scheme of Ministry of Jal Shakti, including anti-sea erosion schemes, are planned and executed by the State Governments with their own resources as per priorities of States. Union Government provides assistance to states which is technical, advisory, catalytic and promotional in nature.

Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in association with Survey of India (SOI) has delineated the hazard line for the entire coast of the country. The hazard line is indicative of the shoreline changes, including sea level rise due to climate change. This line is to be used by agencies in Coastal States as a tool for Disaster Management including planning of adaptive and mitigation measures. The hazard line features in the new Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMP) of the coastal States/Union territories approved by the MoEF&CC.

MoEF&CC has notified Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019 with a view to conserve and protect coastal stretches, marine areas and to ensure livelihood security to the fisher and other local communities. The coastal regulations, however, permit  setting  up  of  erosion  control  measures  in  the  coast.  The  notification  also provides for No Development Zones (NDZ) along various categories of coastal areas to protect India's coastline from encroachment and erosion.

To strengthen the structural measures of flood management, Ministry of Jal Sakthi had implemented  during  XI  &  XII  Plan  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 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 September  2022  with  limited  outlay.  The  Union  Cabinet  has  approved  'Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP)' with total outlay of Rs. 4,100 crore (FMP-Rs 2923.56 Cr) for a period of 5 years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

As a non-structural measure of flood management, Central Water Commission (CWC) issues short-range flood forecasts with a lead time up to 24 hrs to concerned State Governments at identified locations. CWC also issues inflow forecasts to identified reservoirs  for  proper  reservoir  regulation.  Presently,  flood  forecasts  are  issued  by CWC at 350 stations (150 Inflow Forecast Stations + 200 Level Forecast Stations) as per Standard Operating Procedure. The network has been established in consultation with State Govt./Project authorities.

CWC is  currently  providing  seven-day  advisory  flood  forecast  on  its  web  portal https://aff.india-  water.gov.in/  through  pan  India  1D  rainfall-based  mathematical modeling for major river basins of the country, covering 200 water levels and 150 reservoir inflow forecast stations. CWC adopts various dissemination mechanisms to get maximum reach to the flood warnings produced, so that mitigation measures can be adopted by State Governments, SDMA, NDMA and public. The flood forecasts formulated by CWC are disseminated to all stakeholders through Flood Forecasting Website (https://ffs.indiawater.gov.in/)/ FloodWatch India 2.0 App/ Email/Whatsapp/ facebook (CWCOfficial. FF) /X (Twitter- CWCOfficial FF), 'CWC Flood  updates'  (Youtube  Channel),  Common  Alert  Protocol  (CAP)  Alert  through NDMA Sachet portal.

Further steps to strengthen coastal resilience, including construction of flood barriers, embankments, drainage systems, incorporation of climate resilient town planning etc are  planned  and  executed  by  respective  Maritime  States/  UTs.  Such  projects  are generally funded by States/ UTs from their own fund or from multilateral funding or through Central Assistance. There is provision for central assistance for critical sea erosion  works  under  Flood  Management  and  Border  Area  Programme  (FMBAP) scheme as per Guidelines of Ministry of Jal Shakti.

The  Government  has  also  released  the  "Reference  Manual  on  Climate  Change Adaptation Guidelines for Coastal  Protection  and  Management  in  India"  in  March 2019.  The  guidelines  were  developed  under  the  Asian  Development  Bank  (ADB) technical  assistance  on  'Climate  Resilient  Coastal  Protection  and  Management Project'  (CRCPMP).  These  guidelines  stress  the  importance  of  integrating  both engineering  and  nature-based  solutions  ensuring  infrastructure  interventions  are sustainable and climate resilient.

- (d) & (e)  The  National  Disaster  Management  Authority  (NDMA)  under  the  aegis  of  the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has constituted the Committee on Disaster Risk Reduction  (CoDRR)  to  provide  a  multi-disciplinary  approach  to  Glacial  Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) Risk Reduction in collaboration with various Central/State government agencies and departments.

NDMA issued the GLOF management Standard Operating Protocol (SOP) in the form of Guidelines in 2020 and Compendium of Task Force Report for GLOF preparedness and response. The SoP delineates the roles and responsibilities, including actions to be taken by various stakeholders, for disaster risk management. These include regular satellite-based monitoring of glacial lakes, publication of monitoring  reports, formation of  a  multi-agency  Steering  Committee  for  Glacier  Monitoring  and  riskmapping, and publishing  monitoring bulletins  periodically  for  identified  high-risk. These  actions  are  intended  to  detect  and  mitigate  GLOF  and  related  downstream flooding and sedimentation impacts.

Central Water Commission (CWC) in collaboration MoES and NDMA have instituted monitoring, early-warning and mitigation programs for 902 glacial lakes/water bodies (>10 ha) in the Himalayan region using remote sensing technology to identify glacierrelated risks.

The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) and CWC also maintain glacial lake inventories  to  identify  lake  mitigation  interventions  e.g.  de-watering,  controlled breaching, or structural mitigation etc.

Central Water Commission under Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India has also initiated Coastal Management Information system (CMIS) during 12th Plan period under the Development of Water Resources Information System (DWRIS) scheme. Under CMIS, a total of 8 coastal sites has already been established. The CMIS sites are chosen in consultation with the respective State/ UTs and the Coastal data collected under CMIS can be utilized by these stakeholders  for  planning/design  of  disasterresilient infrastructure plan for coastal towns and other allied works.

Nine  coastal  parameters  are  being  observed  at  CMIS  sites.  These  data  are  being utilized by Maritime States/UTs and other stakeholders to make informed decisions on selecting suitable mitigation measures.

Further, the Coastal Protection and Development Advisory Committee (CPDAC) is a high-level inter-ministerial body, under the Central Water Commission (CWC), which provides a common platform for central agencies, coastal engineering experts, and representatives from Maritime States/UTs and relevant Central Departments to discuss and solve coastal erosion problems.

*****