(a) whether a Task Force was set up to map and zone flood-
prone areas spread over 45 million hectares;
(b) if so, whether the Government has implemented the
recommendations of the Task Force in this regard;
(c) if not, the reasons therefor;
(d) the details of the recommendations of the Task Force in
respect of flood-prone areas of West Bengal;
(e) whether the Central Water Commission (CWC) has been
provided with the latest equipments in this regard; and
(f) if not, the reasons therefor?
THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR HEAVY INDUSTRIES, PUBLIC ENTERPRISES AND WATER RESOURCES (SHRI SONTOSH MOHAN DEV)
(a) to (f) The Central Water Commission through Survey of
India took up preparation of maps of identified flood prone
areas in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana,
Delhi, Assam, and Jammu & Kashmir and an area of 54,740 sq.
km. was surveyed. Subsequently a Working Group was
constituted by the Ministry of Water Resources during June
1999 to go into various aspects relating to maps prepared by
the Survey of India in the field of water resources. Based
on the report of the Working Group a scheme has been
formulated by CWC for digitization and updating of these
maps. The CWC gets the works related to flood prone area
mapping through specialized agencies.