(a) whether the flood waters of River Ganga cause erosion of arable land every year in various regions;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the allocation made and funds utilised for prevention of erosion by River Ganga in various States;and
(d) the steps taken by the Government to control flood and consequential land erosion?
MINISTER OF THE STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES AND MINORITY AFFAIRS (SHRI VINCENT H. PALA)
(a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.52 TO BE ANSWERED
ON 24.02.2011 IN LOK SABHA REGARDING “EROSION OF ARABLE LAND BY FLOODS†RAISED BY SHRI RAMKISHUN.
(a) to (d) Yes Sir. The arable (cultivable) land located in the flood plains or the land falling in the
course of meandering rivers like Ganga are subject to erosion by rivers at various locations during floods
every year. The major States affected by land erosion due to river Ganga are Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West
Bengal. The schemes for flood and erosion control are planned, funded and executed by the State Governments,
as per their own priorities, out of their State plan funds which are made available to them through Planning
Commission. In order to provide additional financial support to the State Governments, the Government of
India also assists the flood prone States in flood management and anti-erosion works for critical reaches.
During XI Plan period, central assistance is being provided to all the flood affected States for river
management, flood control and anti- erosion works under a State sector scheme, namely, “Flood Management
Programme (FMP)â€. A total of 81 works on river Ganga and its tributaries from seven Ganga basin States
with a total estimated cost of Rs. 3854.91 crore have been included under “FMP†during XI Plan and the
central assistance amounting to Rs. 1362.67 crore has been released to the concerned States as on
31.01.2011 as under:
(Rs. in Crore)
Sl.No. State Schemes Included under FMP Funds released
Nos. Total Cost Central Share
1 Bihar 41 1226.51 919.88 495.98
2 Haryana 1 173.75 130.31 46.91
3 Himachal Pradesh 1 34.67 31.20 16.20
4 Jharkhand 1 20.12 15.09 10.53
5 Uttar Pradesh 21 557.19 417.89 195.37
6 Uttrakhand 5 42.92 36.83 22.48
7 West Bengal 11 1799.75 1349.82 575.20
Total 81 3854.91 2901.02 1362.67