Question : Soil Erosion

(a) whether the Government is aware that several villages in the country have been washed away due to the soil erosion caused by heavy floods and rains during the last three years and the current year and if so, the details of extent of soil erosion along with the number of villages washed out by indicating the exact loss of property and human life, State-wise;
(b) the steps taken/to be taken by the Government to remedy the situation;
(c) whether the Government is also aware of the fact that erosion along coastline, Indian beaches and their shoreline in the country including Andhra Pradesh and Kerala is very rampant and rapid and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
(d) whether the Government proposes to allocate funds to the affected States on the lines of the sustainable coastal protection and if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the other steps taken/to be taken towards protection/conservation of coastal regions along with checking of soil erosion occurring due to heavy floods and rain?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION

(PROF.SANWAR LAL JAT)

(a) & (b) According to Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), 26449 villages were affected by floods during last 3 years and current year till 19.07.2015. This includes the villages washed away partially or fully. The State-wise details of villages affected, human lives lost and total damages to crops, houses and public utilities due to floods, are given in Annexure-1.
Contd...P/2
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The schemes for flood management and erosion control are formulated and implemented by concerned States as per their priorities. The Union Government supplements the efforts of State Governments by rendering technical advice, as well as financial assistance under the Flood Management Programme (FMP). Under FMP, the central assistance of Rs. 4459.08 Crore has been released to States till date since XI Plan for works related to flood management, anti-erosion and anti-sea erosion.
(c) According to the Shoreline Change Atlas, prepared by National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA) and Central Water Commission (CWC), out of the total Indian coastline of 8413.90 km. 3829.10 km. is affected by erosion, there is accretion in 3004 km. and 1580.80 km of coastal length is stable. The State-wise details are given in Annexure-2.
(d) The Sustainable Coastal Protection and Management Project has been taken up by the States of Maharashtra, Karnataka & Goa with funding from Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Government does not have any proposal for allocation of funds to the States, for this purpose.
(e) The Government of India had launched the Flood Management Programme (FMP) for providing central assistance for measures, which inter-alia include anti-sea erosion. In addition, a Shoreline Change Atlas of the Indian coast had been prepared by Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad in association with the Central Water Commission in May 2014.

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