New Delhi, Aug 3 (PTI) The Centre has provided assistance of Rs 2,536.96 crore in 263 flood mitigation projects in the northeastern states including Sikkim under the flood management and border areas programme (FMBAP), Jal Shakti ministry informed Rajya Sabha on Monday.
In a written reply, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary said flood management and anti-erosion schemes are formulated and implemented by state governments as per respective priorities, while the Union government supplements their efforts through technical guidance and financial assistance for critical works.
Replying to a question on measures to tackle recurring floods and riverbank erosion in the Northeast, the minister said the FMBAP provides central assistance for flood control, anti-erosion and drainage development works.
“Since the inception of the programme up to March 2026, central assistance amounting to Rs 2,536.96 crore has been provided under FMBAP for 263 flood management projects in the North Eastern States, including Sikkim,” he said.
On flood forecasting, Choudhary said the Central Water Commission (CWC) issues short-range flood forecasts with a lead time of up to 24 hours and also provides inflow forecasts for identified reservoirs.
At present, the CWC issues flood forecasts at 360 stations across the country, including 53 stations in the northeastern region — 15 inflow forecast stations and 38 level forecast stations — in accordance with the standard operating procedure, he said.
The minister said the CWC has also developed a basin-wise rainfall-runoff mathematical model to issue seven-day advance flood forecast advisories, giving local authorities more lead time to plan evacuation of people and take other remedial measures.
The advisories are disseminated through a dedicated website. “CWC’s flood forecasting services are also integrated with the integrated alert dissemination platform common alert protocol (CAP) issued to the state disaster management authority (SDMA) of the respective States/UTs. The flood information is also uploaded to various social media platforms such as Facebook, X, and the Flood Watch India mobile app,” he added.
On long-term flood mitigation, Choudhary said the Brahmaputra board has prepared 52 master plans for the northeastern states, incorporating short, medium and long-term structural as well as non-structural measures for flood management.
The minister said the Ministry of Jal Shakti has continuously impressed upon the states the need to adopt flood plain zoning (FPZ) as a non-structural measure of flood management and circulated technical guidelines on the subject to all states and Union territories in August 2025.
He also said hydrological and meteorological data are shared by neighbouring countries for effective river basin management and flood forecasting in the northeastern region.
State governments assess flood damage and provide relief from the state disaster response fund, while additional assistance from the national disaster response fund is extended for disasters of a severe nature under the prescribed procedure, the minister added. PTI ADI ARB ARB
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