The Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has constituted this committee to prepare guidelines for desiltation of Ganga River
Terms of Reference of Committee
- Prepare guidelines for desiltation of Ganga River from Bhimgauda (Uttarakhand) to Farakka (West Bengal).
- Establish difference between desilting and sand mining.
- Establish need for desilting for ecology and e-flow of the river Ganga.
Major Recommendations:
- Creation of sand registry for de-silting of the Ganga
- Study to guide de-silting activities
- Establishment of a technical institute to conduct the sediment budget.
- Establishment of an institute for flood routing studies.
- The committee has observed that erosion, sediment transport and siltation are very complex phenomena and hence ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach cannot be applied to sediment management and control as the issues involved are regionally-specific.
- So, the committee suggests to evolve guidelines, better broad principles while planning and implementing de-silting works as the indiscriminate de-siltation works may cause more harm to ecology.
- The committee recommends good agricultural practices, river bank anti-erosion works and reclamation of adjoining lakes along the river.
- The committee also favours de-silting of adjoining lakes to increase their storage capacities.
- It has recommended dredging of shoals in the Farakka Barrage and usage of such sediments for re-grading the Farakka Feeder Canal.
- It has also suggested to modify the bridges across the Ganga which are causing large afflux.