Centre enhances its spending on flood management and border area projects

The Centre has decided to enhance its share in the funding pattern for the flood management and border area programmes (FMBAP), partially fulfilling the long-pending demand of states.

The move is expected to expedite implementation of the flood and erosion mitigation programmes that have failed to take off due to the cash strapped state government’s inability to provide their part of the matching share under the FMBAP.

Under the FMBAP, the funding pattern used to be 50 per cent central share and the remaining 50 per cent state share for general category states.

For the eight north-eastern states, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, which are categorised as special category states, the 70 per cent of the funding for the schemes taken up under the programmes was provided by the Centre, while the states shelled out the remaining 30 per cent.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga rejuvenation, in a recent decision, enhanced the Centre’s share to 60 per cent for the general category states and 90 per cent for the special category states.

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The state governments for long had been urging the Centre to enhance its share for the funding of flood management and anti-erosion projects, citing their inability to provide 50 per cent of the fund.

The general category states had been insisting that the Centre’s share be enhanced to 75 per cent.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also taken up the matter with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on several occasions.

Banerjee reiterated the state government’s demand highlighting plight of people in flood-prone districts of the state, in her letter to the prime minister on February 21.

“Jal Shakti Ministry, in a communique on February 23, informed the state government its decision to enhance the Centre share of the fund under the FMBAP,” an official of the irrigation department revealed.

When the FMBAP was launched during the XI plan (2007-12), the funding pattern was 90 per cent (Centre): 10 per cent (state) for special category states and 75 per cent (Centre): 25 per cent (state) for general category states.

During the XI plan period, the flood management programme was implemented with an outlay of ₹8,000 crore.

The funding pattern was revised to 70 per cent (Centre): 30 (state) for the special category states and to 50 per cent (Centre): 50 per cent (state) for special category states, during XII plan (2012-17).

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on water resources in its latest report too had expressed concern over slashing the Central share of funding.

The committee had also recommended that the water resources department should impress upon the Niti Aayog to revise the existing fund sharing pattern between the Centre and the states under the flood management schemes, with a view to increase Centre’s share.

“Given the precarious state of financing of states, particularly poor states like Bihar, which shares international border with Nepal, and other major flood prone states are not in a position to provide adequate budgetary support for flood management works,” the report submitted to the parliament in August last year read.

The secretary of Water Resources, in his submission before the committee, admitted that “annual budget of the ministry for flood management works is only ₹500 crore which is awfully low in comparison to the requirement of funds for flood control works/schemes,” the report said.

“Keeping in view the large-scale destruction caused by the floods every year and also the delicate financial position of the states, the Committee urged the department to vigorously pursue with the ministry of finance to provide adequate budgetary support for flood management programmes,” the report further added.

“Though the central share has been slightly increased, it is unlikely to meet the requirements of the states, as the Centre did not have enough funds for the programme,” the official of the irrigation department said.

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The ministry, in its February 23 letter to the state Irrigation department, made it clear that due to paucity of funds only limited projects would be sanctioned and hence, the state has been asked to list the projects it has prioritised.

Erosion and flood-prone West Bengal has lined up four projects worth ₹2,478 crore.

“We are now in a little fix as to which are to be prioritized. All the projects are very important as they involve protection of life and properties of the people,” the official added.