24. An Overview of Flood Management in India

Floods are recurrent phenomena in India from time immemorial. Almost every year some parts of the country or the other are affected by floods of varying magnitude. Different regions of the country have different climates and rainfall patterns and as such, it is also experienced that while some parts are suffering under devastating floods, another part is suffering under drought. With the increase in population and developmental activity, there has been tendency to occupy the flood plains which has resulted in more serious nature of damage over the years. Because of the varying rainfall distribution, many a times, areas which are not traditionally prone to floods also experience severe inundation. Thus flood is the single most frequent disaster faced by the country. According to the estimate of the National Commission on Flood, the area prone to floods in the country was of the order of 40 million hectares, out of which it is considered that 80%, i.e., 32 million hectares could be provided with reasonable degree of protection.