Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) Gets ₹4,100 Crore

The Indian cabinet has approved Rs 4,100 crore for the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme from 2021-2026.

Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP)

Floods are a recurrent and devastating natural disaster in India, causing immense loss of lives and damage to property and infrastructure every year. As per government estimates, According to Ministry of Jal Shakti floods affect an average area of 7.4 million hectares annually in India, causing damage worth Rs 17,564 crore and loss of 1,671 human lives on average.

The Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) plays a vital role in helping mitigate the impact of floods in India. Formed by merging Flood Management Programme (FMP) with River Management Border Areas (RMBA)scheme, Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) was launched in 2017.

FMBAP provides central assistance to states to take up works related to flood control, anti-erosion, drainage development, and border area management. Given the increasing frequency and intensity of floods due to climate change, the continuation and strengthening of FMBAP is critical.

What are the future prospects for FMBAP?

Recognizing FMBAP’s importance in flood management, the scheme has been approved for continuation from 2021-2026 with a total outlay of Rs 4,100 crore. Key future plans include:

  • Enhanced central assistance: Higher outlays are planned for flood management works as well as transboundary river cooperation activities under FMBAP.
  • Mainstreaming climate resilience: Climate change considerations will be integrated into design, technology and implementation of FMBAP projects to improve climate resilience.
  • Improved flood risk governance: Use of advanced technologies like remote sensing, forecasting models and community-based approaches would be scaled up under the scheme for better flood risk management.
  • Basin level planning: Preparation of master plans at river basin level through joint efforts of center, states and expert institutions would facilitate synchronized flood management.

With increased investments, adoption of technologies and a river basin approach, FMBAP is poised to significantly strengthen India’s resilience against devastating floods in the future.

Floods in India
Floods in India

Understanding FMBAP

What is the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP)?

The Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) is a centrally sponsored scheme that aims to provide central assistance to state governments for taking up works related to flood management and activities related to border area management.

The objectives of FMBAP are:

  • To assist state governments in taking up critical flood management works related to river management, flood control, anti-erosion, drainage development, anti-sea erosion, etc.
  • To facilitate scientific management of floods in India and mitigate flood damage by encouraging adoption of new technologies and building flood resilience.
  • To maintain peace along the border areas by taking up flood control and anti-erosion works on common/border rivers with neighbouring countries.

The FMBAP has two components – Flood Management Programme (FMP) and River Management and Border Areas (RMBA) programme.

How does FMBAP function?

The Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) has two components that cater to different focus areas:

  1. Flood Management Programme (FMP):
  • Under FMP, the central government provides financial assistance to state governments to take up flood management works like flood control, river management, anti-erosion, drainage development, anti-sea erosion, restoration of damaged flood management works, etc.
  • The funding pattern is 50% (Centre): 50% (State) for general category states and 70% (Centre): 30% (State) for special category states like north-eastern and Himalayan states.
  1. River Management and Border Areas (RMBA) Programme:
  • The RMBA component focuses on flood management works related to common/border rivers with neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, China, Pakistan and Bhutan.
  • Activities like flood control, anti-erosion works, hydrological observations, flood forecasting, investigation of water resource projects are funded under RMBA.
  • RMBA projects are completely funded by the central government and the funding pattern is 100% assistance.
  • RMBA projects help protect installations of security agencies along border rivers.

What are the financial aspects of FMBAP?

The funding pattern under Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) is:

  • 50% (Centre): 50% (State) for general category states
  • 70% (Centre): 30% (State) for special category states

The projects under RMBA along border rivers are completely funded by the central government.

Special funding considerations are made for different states like north-eastern states and special category states receive higher central assistance of 70% under FMP compared to 50% for general category states.

What has FMBAP achieved so far?

As per latest statistics, under the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) scheme:

  • 522 flood management projects have been approved, out of which 427 projects have been completed
  • The completed projects have provided flood protection to 4.99 million hectares of land
  • About 53.57 million people have benefitted from projects completed under FMBAP

Some examples of FMBAP’s impact:

  • Kosi River Basin Project (Bihar): The Kosi River, often referred to as the “Sorrow of Bihar,” has been notorious for its devastating floods. Under FMBAP, the Kosi River Basin Project focuses on comprehensive flood management strategies.
  • Jhelum and Tawi Flood Recovery Project (Jammu & Kashmir): This project is part of the efforts to rehabilitate and strengthen the flood management infrastructure in the Jhelum and Tawi river basins.
  • Ghatal Master Plan (West Bengal): This project, under the FMBAP, aims to address the chronic flooding in the Ghatal and its adjoining areas in West Bengal.

Thus, the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) scheme has played a significant role in mitigating the impact of floods and erosion in vulnerable areas across various states. Continued focus on expediting project completion under FMBAP is important to extend its benefits even further.

What are the challenges faced in implementing FMBAP?

While the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) scheme is crucial for flood management in India, some key challenges are faced in its effective implementation:

  • Land acquisition issues: Difficulties in timely acquisition of land required for flood management projects delays their completion. Issues like litigation and higher compensation demand need resolution.
  • Encroachment of flood plains and basins: Regulating construction activities and encroachment remains a challenge, especially in urban areas, further aggravating floods.
  • Contractual disputes: Disagreements between contractors and state agencies on costs, time or quality often stall projects. Central monitoring agencies need to review disputes and facilitate resolution.
  • Inter-state coordination issues: Lack of coordination in water management on inter-state rivers can reduce benefits of flood management projects. Conflict resolution mechanisms are needed.

By enhancing monitoring mechanisms, incentivizing community participation, and improving grievance redressal, the above challenges can be addressed for more efficient implementation of FMBAP projects.

How does FMBAP contribute to international cooperation?

Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) has an international cooperation component through the River Management and Border Areas (RMBA) programme:

  • Flood forecasting on transboundary rivers: India collaborates with neighbors like Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, etc. to establish flood forecasting systems on common border rivers. This enhances regional flood preparedness.
  • Joint water resources projects: FMBAP supports investigative studies and pre-construction activities on jointly managed water projects like Pancheshwar dam with Nepal which benefit both countries.
  • Hydrological observation data sharing: India coordinates data sharing of river water levels, flows and sediment loads with neighboring countries. This improves planning for flood risks.
  • River border management: Flood management, anti-erosion and embankment works undertaken along international border rivers also secure vital installations from flooding.

Thus, Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP) enables important international cooperation in water resources management. This strengthens regional flood resilience, political ties and economic integration.

Conclusion

The Flood Management and Border Areas Programme is an indispensable component of India’s flood management strategy. By providing vital financial assistance and technical support, FMBAP supplements state efforts in implementing critical structural and non-structural flood management works across the country.

With climate change exacerbating flood risks, the importance of FMBAP has increased manifold. Its continuation with enhanced outlays and a focus on climate resilience and improved governance will significantly augment India’s capabilities to meet the growing challenge of floods in the future.

Over the years, FMBAP has enabled completion of over 400 flood management projects, protecting nearly 5 million hectares of flood-prone land and over 50 million people. With the increasing unpredictability of floods due to climate change, the scheme is even more critical for building long term flood resilience across India.

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