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