Floods claimed 14,000 lives, caused damage of Rs 1 lakh crore in last 6 years: Panel

NEW DELHI: Floods in the last six years have claimed around 14,000 lives and also caused damages to the tune of Rs 1,03,841 crore to crops, cattle and public utilities, a Parliamentary Panel report said.

A Standing Committee on Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation report said that the annual floods during the 11th and 12th plans (between 2007 and 2013) have affected 21.821 Mha area and 167.617 million people with approximately 14,000 loss of human lives.

Besides, the damages caused to crops, houses, cattle and public utilities was around Rs 1,03,841.197 crore in monetary terms during the same period, the report said.

Pointing out that the Brahmaputra Board and Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC) have prepared Master Plans for the Ganga basin states, the panel underlined that the Government should also initiate steps for having Master Plans for flood control and management for other river basins in the country.

The Brahmaputra Board and GFCC, the report said, have prepared 57 and 23 Master Plans, respectively, which were forwarded to the concerned states for implementation.

The Committee has recommended to the Ministry of Water Resources to initiate "urgent steps to overhaul" the organisation and functioning of GFCC and Brahmaputra Board to enable them to achieve their mandate "effectively".

It also found that only 252 projects out of the 517 flood management projects taken up since the 11th Plan were completed.

"The Committee urge the Government to vigorously pursue with the State Governments and various agencies such as GFCC, Central Water Commission and Brahmaputra Board to make all-out efforts for completing the remaining projects during the 12th Plan period so that more flood-affected areas are brought under the umbrella of flood protection, mitigation and relief," the report said.