(a) whether the area prone to floods has doubled in the country in
the Eleventh Five Year Plan as compared to the First Five Year Plan;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
(c) whether the Government has made any assessment of the effect of
construction of dams and barrages on flood control;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the action taken by the Government in this regard?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES & MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRI VINCENT H. PALA)
(a) & (b) Specific information for making such a comparison is not available.
As per the report of Rashtriya Barh Ayog (RBA) – 1980, the area liable to floods
in the country has been assessed as 40 million hectares; which was reassessed as
45.36 million hectares by the Working Group on Water Resources for the XI Five
Year Plan (2007-12) on the basis of report from the State Governments.
(c) & (d) The flood management being a State subject, the matter regarding
assessment of the effect of construction of dams and barrage on flood control
falls under the purview of respective State Governments and looked after by them.
However, various expert committees/ Groups on flood management viz., RBA – 1980
and Task Force on Flood Management/ Erosion Control – 2004 have in general
recommended that dams provide long term solutions for flood control.
(e) The Government of India provides financial assistance to the
State Governments for undertaking flood management works in critical areas.
During XI Plan, the Cabinet has approved `in principle` a scheme namely
`Flood Management Programme` under state sector with an estimated cost of
Rs.8,000 crore for providing central assistance to the state governments for
undertaking flood management works, in critical areas.