West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the issue of “continuous river erosion” along the Ganga-Padma river in districts of south-central West Bengal, resulting in severe erosion of public utilities, private properties and agricultural land. damage has been done. Ms. Banerjee urged the Prime Minister to kindly reconsider the decision to withdraw the expanded jurisdiction of the Farraka Barrage Project Authority (FBPA) to fulfill the earlier commitment of the Central Government and to introduce bank protection schemes across the region. can be arranged. Extended Jurisdiction.
The Chief Minister said that in 2005, the Ministry of Water Resources had increased the working area of FBPA from 40 km upstream of the barrage to 80 km downstream for the purpose of erosion and riverbank protection in the entire stretch. “Further, surprisingly, the Union Ministry of Water Resources vide its letter dated 11 July 2017 unilaterally retracted its earlier decision of 2005 and extended the original jurisdiction of FBPA from 11.5 km upstream to 5.9 km downstream of Farakka Barrage. reinstated,” Ms Banerjee wrote in the letter.
In her three-page letter dated February 21, Ms Banerjee pointed out that the gravity of the problem can be gauged from the fact that about 2800 hectares of fertile land has been submerged in the river and caused damage to public and private. 1000 Crore assets during the last 15 years.
The Chief Minister emphasized that the problem persists for the last two decades, as the FBPA has not assessed the problem, hence the status of land loss due to river erosion in 400 sq.km of 15 blocks of Malda, Murshidabad. and has increased. and Nadia in West Bengal.
The Chief Minister said that since FBPA has not done any important work, the State Government has to carry out immediate bank security work at 31 identified vulnerable locations during the last four years at a total cost of Rs.168.47 crore for the security of thousands. . Number of flood victims in Malda, Murshidabad and Nadia districts.
“The real need for money is immense. As per the latest assessment, 37 locations along the Ganga-Padma river with a length of 28.80 km are vulnerable and need immediate attention. The concomitant expenditure for protection of the river bank would be ₹571 crore,” the communication added.
Ms. Banerjee said that it is becoming increasingly difficult for the state government to arrange the necessary funds for the new bank protection work and urged the Prime Minister to take the matter seriously so that flood management and restoration can be done properly. . ,
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