ARTICLE | Flood Management
Charting a path from policy to practice for Indian cities Floods are a recurrent phenomenon in many parts of India, and human and economic losses are consistently rising with increased exposure to the hazard. These losses can be significantly reduced by eliminating the encroachment on floodplains and regulating the land use within it through floodplain zoning, a widely accepted and effective non-structural policy measure Radhika Matta | Editorial Assistant
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looding is also a natural event vital for geomorphological process and ecology of rivers. Flood fury has caused massive damage to livelihoods and property in the last six decades in India. Over the years, floodplains have become sites of development due to their economic potential. Increasing human presence in the floodplains has hampered the normal pathway for floods. An active floodplain signifies the replenishment of soil and nutrients. The fertile floodplains have always been ideal agricultural sites since the periodic flooding has ensured a fresh supply of nutrient-rich fine-grained sediment. Several government agencies and experts have attributed the increasing frequency and damages caused by floods to the encroachments in the floodplains of Indian rivers. “Rivers do not always flow in a fixed line but have the virtue of expanding on both sides of the rivers, several times in a year. Here, the floodplains allow them a comfortable zone to accommodate the excess water and prevent flooding of human settlements. However, with the passage of time, these floodplains have become victims of illegal as well as
38 August 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
planned legal invasion by governments across the country,” said Jayshree Vencatesan of Care Earth Trust, Chennai (reported by Prevention Web, July 13, 2021).
Impact of encroachments on floodplains
In India, we have seen devastating floods in Uttarakhand (2021), Srinagar (2014) and Madhya Pradesh (2021), in addition to frequent events in Bihar and elsewhere to bring home to us the ill effects of invaded river flood plains. However, since then, all concerned have failed to learn any lessons and adopt corrective measures.. Increasing encroachments on floodplains of Yamuna and Brahmaputra have strangled the rivers. The large-scale damage caused by floods in western Maharashtra and Konkan has put the spotlight back on massive encroachment of floodplains and the lack of regulations in the state. A report submitted in May 2020 mentioned that “a cursory analysis of these floods revealed that it was not just the fury of nature that wreaked havoc, but the large problem can be attributed to human interventions in the riverine and stream ecosystem.” Its recommendations have not been acted
upon yet either. The 2021 report of a NITI Aayog Committee for the formulation of strategy for flood management works in the country also recommended floodplain zoning as an important nonstructural measure to counter flood damages. The report also urged the Jal Shakti Ministry to impress upon the states on the need to take measures to ensure floodplain zoning.
Examining India’s Floodplain Zoning Policies
Regulating floodplain use in India has largely been a flawed exercise. The constitutional provision of flood management falls under the purview of the state governments, while central government organisations such as the Ganga Flood Control Commission, Brahmaputra Board and the Central Water Commission, can only provide technical support to the states. It is up to the states to weigh the costs and benefits of floodplain zoning as a viable flood management option. The Model Bill for Flood Plain Zoning (MBFPZ) and the National Disaster Management Guidelines for floods (NDMG) are two key policy documents that reflect the central government’s position on floodplain zoning and capture the governance mechanism that it has tried to impress upon the states. But these instruments will remain ineffective unless the state governments can muster enough political will to pass legislations. The policies will have to be contextualized according to the existing socio-political and economic realities in each state. This is important
