AT LEAST five states in India are currently facing floods. What’s significant is that this is the third consecutive year when the semi-arid and desert states of Gujarat and Rajasthan are in the list.
Floods in India are becoming more unusual in scale, severity and scope, striking beyond the traditionally vulnerable states. Over 700 died in June and July due to floods this year, up from 475 in 2016, and Gujarat and Rajasthan account for nearly half the deaths. A 2015 report by the World Resources Institute, a Washington DC-based research organisation, named India as the country most exposed to risks of river flooding. Under such circumstances, India’s flood management system should have been reinforced. But that has not been the case, says a performance audit of India’s flood management schemes by the Comptroller and Auditor General (cag) of India.
The audit, tabled in Parliament on July 21, covered flood management schemes in 17 states and Union territories during 20072016. It looked into 206 projects under the Flood Management Programme (fmp), which was launched in 2007 to provide Central assistance to the states to manage floods; 38 flood forecasting stations (FFS) that observe water levels in major rivers; 68 large dams and 49 river management works under the River Management Activities and works related to Border Areas (RMABA); and, other schemes. An analysis of the report shows that India’s flood management is lacking in forecasting mechanisms, taking preemptive safety measures and in post flood management. It also shows that the Central funds given to the states were far less than what was promised, and highlights delays in flood management projects.
Flood forecast a non-starter
This story is from the August 16, 2017 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 16, 2017 edition of Down To Earth.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Pill That's Roiling US Drug Regulation
The hard right is challenging FDA's authority to regulate drugs with its lawsuit to ban America's most used abortion pill
TURN OVER A NEW LEAF
The young leaves of pilkhan free are a worthy alternative to leafy vegetables in the spring season
FAIR PRICE
Using a calculator, Uttar Pradesh scientifically fixes fee for transporting faecal sludge to treatment plants
THE FOREVER POLLUTANT
From production to usage to disposal, plastic is a threat to those who come in its contact SIDDHARTH GHANSHYAM SINGH
Seeds from the past
For a decade,200 villages in Odisha have conserved and grown 190 indigenous rice and millet varieties with proven climate resilience
TESTING TIMES
While the world is trying to identify uniform tests to measure soil biodiversity, it still needs investment and infrastructure to make them available to all
BREAKING NEW GROUND
Soil health is typically measured by its nutrient content, by presence of elements like nitrogen and phosphorus. No country in the world measures it in terms of soil biodiversity-a counting of underground faunal populations and microorganisms.
PRIME TRIGGER
Heat stress dominates debate on the causes of a mysterious chronic kidney disease that continues to baffle health experts and is on the rise globally
Coral catastrophe
Consistent ocean heating puts global corals at risk of mass bleaching in 2024
CHIPKO A DISTANT MEMORY
Whenever a dictionary of green terms is written, no matter in what language, it will contain at least one Hindi word-Chipko, which means to hug.