(a) the measures taken by the Government to prevent the acute loss caused by the erosion of river Ganga in West Bengal;
(b) whether the Government proposes a special package to compensate for the loss caused by this erosion in Malda and Murshidabad districts of West Bengal;
(c) if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the number of families displaced due to erosion of Ganga river in West Bengal?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI
(SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)
(a) Erosion, movement and deposition of sediment in a 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. Soil erosion caused by heavy floods is a matter of concern as it leads to several associated problems like changes in river course, causing loss of land, etc.
The Government of India has been making continuous efforts to assist the State Governments in effective flood management and erosion control. Morphological Studies by various IIT and NIIT have been carried out for major rivers like Ganga, Sharda, Rapti, Kosi, Bagmati, Subansari, Krishna, Mahanadi Mahanada, etc. These Studies aid in finding the vulnerable spots for bank erosion/deposition, aggradations/ degradation etc. As per the morphological study of river Ganga carried out by IIT, Roorkee, the total eroded area in the Ganga river from Devprayag to Farakka barrage in the period 1970-2010 is 447 km2 while the total deposited area in extreme left and right banks shifting is 1070.94 km2
(b) & (c) Flood management including erosion control falls within the purview of the States. Flood management and anti-erosion schemes are formulated and implemented by concerned State Governments as per their priority. The Union Government supplements the efforts of the States by providing technical guidance and promotional financial assistance for management of floods in critical areas. Government of India under ongoing Flood Management and Border Area Programme (FMBAP) of Ministry of Jal Shakti has released central assistance amounting to Rs. 328.22 Crores during the period 2016-17 to 2021-22 in respect of ongoing flood management/anti-erosion projects in the State West Bengal.
(d) Central Water Commission compiles flood damage data on the basis of information received from States. Statement showing average annual flood damages during last twenty years in State of West Bengal is given at Annexure-I.
******
ANNEXURE-I
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (d) UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4827 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 31.03.2022 REGARDING “EROSION OF GANGA RIVER”.
Annual Average Flood Damage Data during last 20 years 2000-2019 in the States of West Bengal.
Name of State West Bengal
Area affected in mha 0.62
Population affected in million 4.71
Damage to Crops Value in Rs. Crore 1335.22
Damage to Houses value in Rs. Crore 977.35
Cattle lost in nos. 10908
Human lives lost in nos. 195
Damage to public utilities in Rs. Crore 549.77
Total damages crops, Houses & Public Utilities in Rs. Crore 2719.23
*****