flood-prone area in the country as 40 million hectare (mha) which was revised further to 49.815
      mha by the Working Group on Flood Management set up by the Planning Commission for the
      XII Five-Year Plan. In order to protect human life, land and property from flood fury the state
      governments have been engaged in flood management works for the last 5 decades.
      Ganga Flood Control Commission
            With the objective to effectively tackle critical and chronic flood problems in the Ganga
      Basin, Ganga Flood Control Board (GFCB) was set up in 1972. The functions include: to lay
      down the broad policies and decide priorities in the implementation of various schemes, and to
      issue necessary directions in respect of formulation of comprehensive plan for flood control in
      the Ganga basin and approval of schemes.
            Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC), a subordinate office of this Ministry with its
      headquarters at Patna, was also created in 1972 to act as the secretariat and executive limb of
      GFCB and to deal with the floods and its management in Ganga Basin states.
            There are 11 states in Ganga Basin, namely, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand,
      Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and NCT
      Delhi. The river systems of Ganga basin are (1) Gomati, (2) Adhwara Group, (3) Ghaghra, (4)
      Mahananda, (5) KamlaBalan, (6) Burhi Gandak, (7) Bagmati, (8) Punpun, (9) Kosi, (10) Gandak,
      (11) Ajoy, (12) Kiul-Harohar, (13) Damodar, (14) Mayurakshi, (15) Yamuna, (16) Ramganga,
      (17) Tons, (18) Badua-Chandan, (19) Rupnarain-Haldi-Rasulpur, (20) Jalangi, (21) Sone, (22)
      Tidal rivers and (23) Main Ganga. Most of these rivers are inter-state rivers.
      Central Ground Water Board
      Ground Water Development
            There is considerable variation in ground water potential in different parts of the country.
      While some areas like Indo-Gangetic Alluvium have huge ground water potential, many hard
      rock areas have limited ground water resources. Similarly, the development of ground water
      resources in different areas of the country has not been uniform. Highly intensive development
      of ground water in certain areas in the country has resulted in over - exploitation leading to
      decline in ground water levels, whereas in some other areas ground water is still sub-optimally
      developed, leaving scope for future extraction. CGWB carries out periodic assessment of ground
      water resources jointly with the state ground water departments.
      Aquifier Mapping and Formulation of Aquifier Management Plan
            Aquifiers are natural rock formations which can store and economically yield water. In the
      XII Plan, CGWB has taken up the National Project on Aquifier Management (NAQUIM) to
      facilitate identification, delineation, characterization and effective management of aquifiers to
      ensure sustainability of ground water resources. The major activities envisaged under the project
      include compilation of existing data, data gap analysis, generation of additional data for
      preparation of aquifier map and formulation of aquifier management plans. Each activity has a
      number of sub-activities and tasks which are being carried out as per detail protocols for
      implementation.
      Demonstrative Projects on “Artificial Recharge to Groundwater and