Question : Inspection of Ganga River

(a) whether the Government has got/proposes to get inspection done at the places located at the river Ganga and Yamuna where silt is deposited and if so the details thereof;
(b) the details of dates on which such inspections have been done;
(c) whether different states have expressed their concern in this regard and if so, the details thereof alongwith the action taken thereon;
(d) the steps taken by the Government to desilt the river Ganga and Yamuna;
(e) whether the Government has fixed any time limit in this regard; and
(f) if so, the details thereof alongwith the time by which desilting is likely to be done?

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

(SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)
(a) to (c) Erosion and deposition of silt is a natural process in alluvial rivers. Rivers carry, pickup and drop silt load as per their regime conditions, i.e. discharge in the river, river slope, morphology, nature of silt etc. Morphological studies are undertaken, inter-alia, for finding vulnerable spots of erosion & deposition of silt in the rivers. Central Water Commission has undertaken morphological studies of various rivers including Ganga and Yamuna starting Xth Plan using remote sensing technique through consultancy services from various reputed technical institutions.

In response to the concerns raised by State Government of Bihar, the Government has also undertaken a study through an independent agency, on the issue of flood and siltation in river Ganga due to Farakka Barrage in the State of Bihar, under the supervision of a Committee which also includes representatives from State Government of Bihar.

(d) The issue of de-siltation of rivers has been considered by the Government since long. In this context, a Committee headed by former Chairman, CWC had studied the siltation pattern in few rivers in India and inter-alia concluded that de-silting of rivers, in general was not feasible technically due to several reasons like non-sustainability, non-availability of vast land required for the disposal of dredged material etc. However, cost effective measures for removal of drainage congestion in specific reaches of rivers for channel capacity improvement and navigation purposes are formulated and implemented by concerned States/ agencies as per requirement. The Union Government renders assistance to States which is technical, advisory, catalytic and promotional in nature.
(e) & (f) The Government has not fixed any time limit for removal of the silt deposits.
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