Expediting Floodplain Zoning in Assam

Demarcating areas affected by floods and regulating development activities in the identified areas/zones is essential for minimising flood damage and loss of lives and property. Efforts by the central government to persuade the states to demarcate flood-affected areas and enforce regulatory measures there through the enactment of required legal provisions date back to 1975, when it circulated a model Flood Plain Zoning (FPZ) bill to the states. Ironically, only four states have so far enacted floodplain zoning, and despite being ravaged by multiple waves of flood, Assam does not figure among these four states. A recent fund disbursement norm framed by the central government has made it clear Assam may lose out on critical funding support under the “Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP)” if it further delays the enactment of the FPZ law. The Ministry of Jal Shakti informed the Lok Sabha on Monday that the new critical flood management projects from only those states that have implemented FPZ either through legislation or through an appropriate executive order may only be considered for funding under the Flood Management Programme (FMP) component of the FMBAP scheme during the XV Finance Commission Cycle. The central government undertook FMP during the XI & XII Plans for providing central assistance to states for works related to flood control, anti-erosion, drainage development, anti-sea erosion, etc., which subsequently continued as a component of FMBAP for the period from 2017-18 to 2020-21 and has been further extended up to 2026. With the lifespan of most embankments in Assam already over, the state needs substantial central assistance to strengthen flood protection measures in the state. The model FPZ bill circulated by the Central Water Commission in 1975 includes draft clauses on the formation of FPZ authorities, undertaking surveys and delineation of floodplain areas, notifying limits of floods, prohibition and restriction of the use of floodplains, providing compensation to affected people, and power to remove obstruction after enforcement of the Act. Due to the delay in implementation, human settlements along the floodplains have increased over the decades, and enforcement of FPZ will require the relocation of large populations to outside the demarcated areas. Assam cannot undertake such a massive operation without adequate central assistance that will be required in relocating people away from identified and demarcated floodplain areas. Therefore, the central government’s role does not end in persuading states to enact FPZ but also considers the financial constraints that come in the way of the implementation of various clauses. On its part, the enactment of FPZ by the state government will at least ensure that there is no new settlement or unregulated human activities, which are prohibited under FPZ law. Recurring and multiple annual floods cause damage and losses to lives and properties in two ways: when floods inundate unprotected areas between an embankment and the river and the flooding of protected areas through breaches in embankments. Despite annual repair of the breached portion, most embankments in the state are prone to breach during severe flood situations, and this problem will continue to recur until permanent structural measures of replacing the earthen embankments with concrete protection structures are initiated. Damage and losses can be substantially reduced if people living in floodplain areas between embankments and rivers can be relocated to safer zones in the protected areas. Besides, it can also reduce the expenditure involved in relief and rehabilitation, flood damage repair, and mitigation measures in unprotected areas. Once FPZ is demarcated, people living inside the demarcated areas and vulnerable to flood and erosion are relocated, resettlement in these areas is strictly prohibited, and the state can focus on structural and non-structural flood mitigation in protected areas covered by 423 embankments in the state. Strengthening the existing embankments is crucial to protect lakhs of people from flooding. However, the central government’s persistent stand that flood management, including erosion prevention, falls under the purview of the states comes in the way of Assam receiving adequate central assistance for strengthening the embankments, which allows it to undertake routine repair works ahead of the annual monsoon season with its limited resources. Such temporary work cannot guarantee that embankments will withstand the fury of a mighty river like the Brahmaputra, particularly in portions that have become weak. The central government linking funding under FMP to FPZ will further reduce central assistance for critical flood management projects, which is a cause of concern. The state government enacting FPZ will be critical to undertaking large and critical flood management projects. The central government must consider that implementation of FPZ will be feasible only in phases and only with active support and adequate central assistance, and, therefore, relaxation in the norm linking it to FMP assistance in the case of Assam will be crucial for effective flood management in the state. The state government further delaying FPZ enactment will only make flood management more difficult.