Ganga Flood Board Meeting: Centre Launches Groundwater Recharge App
New Delhi, October 29: A high-level meeting of the Ganga Flood Control Board was held on October 27 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil. The 19th session of the board also saw the launch of the 'Punarbharan Mobile App', which is designed to support the scientific selection of sites for artificial groundwater recharge.
The gathering included West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ram Nath Thakur, NITI Aayog Member Prof. K. V. Raju, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary, and Uttar Pradesh Jal Shakti Minister Swatantra Dev Singh. Delegates from Ganga basin states, senior officials from the Centre and states, and representatives of concerned agencies were in attendance.
The Ganga Flood Control Board was set up by the Union government on April 18, 1972, to devise integrated plans for solving flood, erosion and drainage issues in the Ganga basin and to make their implementation smoother. It is chaired by the Union Jal Shakti Minister and comprises representatives of relevant central ministries as well as Chief Ministers or their representatives from basin states. The Chairman of the Ganga Flood Control Commission serves as its Member Secretary.
The board functions as a top-level institutional platform to reinforce cooperation between the Centre and states for efficient flood management across the basin. The latest meeting reviewed ongoing initiatives, sought to strengthen inter-state coordination, and deliberated on fresh approaches to flood management.
The Punarbharan app has been created by the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics with backing from the National Water Mission. The tool aims to assist in scientifically identifying appropriate locations for implementing artificial groundwater recharge.
Members also discussed the revised mandate and restructuring of the Ganga Flood Control Commission. The agenda covered strengthening basin-level flood management planning, assessing flood management plans, carrying out river morphology and sedimentation studies, and developing a flood management information system. The revised institutional setup is expected to bring improvements in coordination, technical appraisal and timely decision-making.
Additional focus areas included preparing risk-based basin master plans, evaluating whether waterways under bridges are adequate, enhancing the quality of detailed project reports, ensuring timely implementation of flood management projects, and using modern technologies in flood control.
Special importance was given to closer alignment among central ministries, state governments and other stakeholders. The discussions addressed river course changes, drainage blockages, infrastructure growth and building greater capacity to cope with floods. The importance of modern survey methods, robust technical review, timely statutory approvals and quick removal of hurdles in project execution was also underscored.
The meeting emphasised an integrated, risk-based and technology-supported approach to making flood management more effective in the Ganga basin. It also stressed the need for improved Centre-state cooperation, better technical standards, and time-bound, coordinated execution of flood control measures.