Kolkata: Amid the Centre’s continued neglect in addressing river erosion in Bengal, the state Irrigation and Waterways department is considering a proposal for interim flood management to tackle Ganga–Padma erosion in parts of Malda and Murshidabad. The plan also involves neighbouring states Jharkhand and Bihar.
“My department under the direction of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the intervention of our Chief Secretary has started discussions with Bihar and Jharkhand.
Our department’s principal secretary has interacted with his counterparts. If the two states come forward then with the approval of our Chief Minister we can proceed for an interim flood management plan associated with Ganga- Padma erosion that involves around Rs 610 crore,“ said state Irrigation and Waterways (I &W) minister Manas Bhunia while speaking on the first report of the Standing Committee on I & W and the Water Resources Investigation and Development (2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24) at the state Assembly. According to sources in the Irrigation department, the plan, if implemented, will prove beneficial, particularly for the Katiya and Bhutni Diara areas.
Bhunia said that in Malda, at least 2599 people have been affected by river erosion from 2011 till date with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee providing patta to all of them and assistance for constructing houses under Banglar Bari. In Murshidabad, 526 persons have received assistance for the construction of houses under Bangalar Bari and 103 people have received land patta.
Approximately 413 villages and 25326 bighas of land in Malda and Murshidabad have been affected.
Inspite of several letters from the Chief Minister, the Centre has not allotted a single penny to combat river erosion.
Bhunia maintained that Bengal conceived a project involving 39 islands in Sunderbans to address the difficulties faced by its residents, particularly due to erosion hazards and salinity issues through a Rs 4100 crore project with financial assistance from World Bank.
“We have forwarded the project for simply the nod of the Centre so that we can start work. It has been a long time since we have not received the Centre’s nod,“ he added.