A natural disaster long ignored

Assam government's request to the high-level central team for assessment of damage caused by floods this year to consider erosion for funds under State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) is a legitimate and long-standing appeal. The State government has impressed upon the Central team that Assam suffers heavily due to river erosion every year and therefore the team in its report should recommend erosion as an item admissible under SDRF/NDRF. The seven-member Inter-Ministerial Team visited several districts from November 23 to 25 for on-the-spot assessment of the damage before wrapping up the details in a meeting with officials of the State government. Erosion is a perennial and severe problem like recurring annual floods but is yet to receive the required attention of the Central government. It is unfortunate that despite the severity of the problem of erosion which manifests in the form of loss of agricultural and homestead land, loss of educational institutions and other infrastructure, the burden of anti-erosion measures in the state is grappling with resource crunch.

The severity of erosion can be gauged from the official estimate that Assam has been losing land at the rate of 8,000 hectares every year since fifties decade. Over four lakh hectares of land has already been lost in erosion. The socio-economic impact of 2,500 villages lost due to erosion is enormous. Most of the erosion-hit families suffer displacement multiple times. Majuli river island has lost over 231 square kilometres of land over a period of 64 years between 1940 and 2014. The alarming shrinkage of the landmass of the river-island speak volume of the existential threat posed to cultural capital of the state. Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had earlier gone on record that the 15th Finance Commission has accorded river erosion as a natural calamity and recommended for adequate compensation including rehabilitation under SDRF and NDRF. He also stated that the Central government had asked the State to submit a detailed report incorporating the details of those victims in the state who were rendered landless and homeless due to erosion. Therefore, it can be expected that the Central government accepting the recommendation of the Central team on erosion is only an official formality. It is heartening to know that the team has assured to submit the report with recommendations soon.

The State government will have to ensure that no erosion-hit family remains deprived from rehabilitation process. However, mere rehabilitation of the erosion-affected is not going to solve the problem. The State government has also requested for release of Rs 2642.99 crore for flood damage repair and restoration works. Early release of the fund can ensure taking up timely repair and restoration work. Breaches occurred in 212 embankments, 1720 roads, 182 bridges and culverts were damaged in multiple waves of flood this year. Repairing the embankments and plugging the holes need to be completed on war footing to reduce the vulnerability of a worse flood situation next year. Assam's track record in utilization of SDRF/NDRF fund has been dismal. Lax monitoring on quality of work also allows the nexus of a section of corrupt contractors and officials loot fund released for flood damage repair and anti-erosion measures. An effective mechanism of checks and balances need to be set up to ensure judicious utilization of fund released for flood management and anti-erosion measures. Piecemeal solutions of plugging the breaches in the embankments, anti-erosion measures at isolated stretches of the river Brahmaputra and its tributaries cannot prevent recurrence of flood damage and erosion.

Long-term solution needs to be found to check erosion caused by the river Brahmaputra to prevent further drainage of limited resources available for managing the twin problem of flood and erosion. Such solutions require cooperation of riparian countries of the Brahmaputra basin and riparian states in Northeast region. Geopolitics play a crucial role in evolving such long-term solutions in respect of an international river like the Brahmaputra. However, the delay in constitution of an inter-state authority for water resource management to ensure cooperation of the states in the Northeast region for flood management and erosion control, utilization of water resources is incomprehensible. The Central government should expedite the process of constitution of the proposed North East Water Management Authority by convening consultative meet with the state governments and other stakeholders. Till long-term solutions are found the short-term mitigation measures of flood management and anti-erosion measures will have to be continued. This implies prioritizing damage caused by erosion along with flood damage for relief and rehabilitation under SDRF/NDRF. The State government needs to ensure that 2021 Assembly elections which are due in another five months do not disrupt the fund flow and execution. In order to avoid any disruption closer to the election dates, the State government needs to plan execution in advance.