KOLKATA: Chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday wrote to PM Narendra Modi over the “perpetual river erosion” along the Ganga in Malda, Murshidabad and Nadia districts, causing severe loss of public utilities, private properties and agricultural land.
She also urged the PM’s intervention so that flood management and restoration schemes could be carried out to save lives and livelihood, while also mentioning the state’s funds crunch.
In the past two decades, almost 2,800 hectare of fertile land had been engulfed by the river and damages to public and private properties amounted to Rs 1,000 crore, the CM said. “Erosion along the river bank has largely been caused by siltation and frequent shifting of the course upon construction of the Farakka barrage. There has been adverse impact on Ganga-Padma erosion in context of the Indo-Bangla Ganga Treaty of 1996, both downstream and upstream of Farakka,” Banerjee wrote.
The CM had earlier written in May 2017 highlighting this and urged the Farakka Barrage Project Authority (FBPA) to take up anti-erosion and bank protection work. “However, despite several persuasions, FBPA has not addressed the problem of river erosion adequately,” she added.
“This has further aggravated land loss due to river erosion over 400 sqkm of 15 blocks in Malda, Murshidabad and Nadia. Moreover, the Union ministry of water resources unilaterally withdrew its earlier decision of 2005 and restored the original jurisdiction of the FBPA from 11.5 km upstream to 5.9 km downstream of Farakka barrage. Due to this, I had requested you in August 2017 to restore the extended jurisdiction of 120 km by rescinding the aforesaid decision,” she said.
The CM wrote that as FBPA did not take up any substantial work, the Bengal government had to take up urgent bank protection work at 31 identified vulnerable locations during last four years at a cost of Rs.168.47 crore. “After last year’s monsoon, further work along a 9.9-km stretch has recently been taken up at a cost of Rs 80.67 crore,” she added.
Banerjee requested the PM to reconsider the decision of withdrawal of the extended jurisdiction of FBPA, so as to fulfil the earlier commitment of the Centre.
