Centre gives nod to keep HQ of Ganga flood control panel in Patna
On Bihar Deputy CM request, Centre’s nod to restore hqrs of Ganga flood control commission to Patna
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Patna — Union jal shakti minister CR Patil on Monday acceded to the request of deputy chief minister-cum-water resources minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary to keep the headquarters of the Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC) in Patna.
The GFCC is a subordinate office under the Union ministry of jal shakti and its is tasked with managing floods across the Ganga River basin states.
Speaking at the 19th meeting of the Ganga Flood Control Board in New Delhi, Choudhary earlier strongly opposed the shifting of the Commission to Delhi and said that it was always in Patna and should remain there.
Choudhary said that since its formation in 1972, the headquarters of the chairman and members of the Commission was in Patna, which was recently transferred to Delhi by the Union ministry of jal shakti.
He said that it would make it difficult for Bihar to approve the flood management plans and the flood prevention work would also be stalled. He had, through CM Samrat Chaudhary, also requested the Centre to keep the headquarters of the Commission in Patna.
BSE ROU PRES VUSRSS LESS WE SU cept. the headquarters of the Ganga Flood Control Commission should be in Patna," he said, which found favour from West Bengal CM Subhendu Adhikari and Uttar Pradesh Water Resources Minister Swatantra Dev Singh.
Choudhary also demanded timely approval of flood management schemes (Flood Management Program and River Management and Border Area Program) by the Central Government. He said that the Bihar government would try to send the flood management plans by the end of December and there should be such an arrangement to give Centre's nod by the end of February, which would give three-month time for their implementation.
Choudhary said the Union jal shakti minister assured to take immediate action in this regard and also took note of the important issue of silt management raised by him.
The Deputy CM said that the water holding capacity of the rivers is continuously decreasing due to the accumulation of uncontrolled silt on the river bed, which aggravates the severity of flood.
"Due to the silt, the river bed is constantly rising, which has led to the new highest water
Bihar to seek relief funds from Centre to remove sand, silt from flood-hit farmlands PATNA: The Bihar governGopalganj, Darbhanga, ment will seek funds from Muzaffarpur, Supaul and the Centre to remove sand — Saharsa, directing them to and silt from farmlands and _ assess sand and silt deposits fisheries affected in the on agricultural land and in recent floods in the state,an fisheries affected by recent official statement said on _ floods," the statement said. Tuesday. The department asked The state Disaster Man_ authorities concerned to conagement Department(DMD) duct on-site inspection of the has asked district magisaffected agricultural land trates (DMs) of 22 districtsto and fisheries and assess the assess sand and silt deposits extent of sand and silt depoon flood-affected agricultural _ sition. land and fisheries caused by "Based on this assessment, the floods in Ganga, Son, _ financial assistance will be Gandak, Kosi and other rivsought in accordance with ers. prescribed relief norms of "Acting on the chief minis_ the State Disaster Response ter'sdirections,the DMDhas Fund (SDRF) and the written to the DMs of Patna, —_ National Disaster Response Bhojpur, Saran, Vaishali, Fund (NDRF)," it said. Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Buxar, This assistance will help Samastipur, Munger, Kati_ restore and facilitate agriculhar, Lakhisarai, Khagaria, tural and fisheries-related Purnia, Madhepura, Arwal, activities in the affected West and East Champaran, areas, itadded. point (HFL) and unbridled silta- — Restoration and Silt Managetion could affect the health of ment Policy 2026 has been rivers. made and there was need for a For the firsttime in thecounsimilar policy at the national try, the Bihar Water Resources __ level, he added.
About the Author
Arun Kumar is a veteran journalist and Associate Editor with Hindustan Times, based in Patna. For more than three and a half decades, his reporting has chronicled Bihar's complex political landscape, university and educational reforms, landmark judicial rulings of the Patna High Court, administrative governance, and social shifts across the state. Known for deep investigative reporting and source-grounded accountability journalism, he is a recipient of the prestigious K.C. Kulish Journalism Award and the Keshav Bhatt Journalism Award, and is an LDM Fellow.