Chitale Committee recommends several measures for De-siltation of Ganga

Chitale Committee recommends several measures for De-siltation of Ganga

Question: Chitale committee was constituted by …
(a) Home Ministry
(b) Finance Ministry
(c) Defence Ministry
(d) Water Resources River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Ministry
Ans:(d)

  • Chitale committee on De-siltation of Ganga has recommended a variety of measures for de-siltation of the river.
  • The committee was constituted in July 2016 by the Ministry of Water Resources River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation to prepare guidelines for de-siltation of river Ganga from Bhimgauda (Uttarakhand) to Farakka (West Bengal).
  • Shri Madhav Chitale (Expert Member, NGRBA) was appointed as Chairman of the committee.
  • The committee suggests that de-siltation works can improve hydraulic performance of the river and this itself can justify undertaking de-siltation, these have no direct role in improving environment flow in the river. On the other hand, indiscriminate de-silting or sand mining would cause adverse impacts on river e-flow.
  • De-siltation along the preselected channel to deepen and attract the flow could be tried to guide the main course of flow.
  • Efforts should be made to provide silt continuity along the weirs and barrages.
  • Embankments, spurs and river training measures provided to protect the banks should not encroach upon the flood plains and delink the lakes, flood plains and other riverine environment from the river.
  • The proposed de-silting of any river reach need to be justified bringing out clearly the flooding caused due to siltation along with technical comparisons of the alternative flood mitigation measures.
  • Reservoirs in main river Ganga and its tributaries, particularly in upper reaches, should be operated in such a manner that first floods, having high silt load, are allowed to pass through without storage and river flows in later phases of the monsoon are only stored for use during non-monsoon season.
  • Agricultural practices along the river flood plains should be such that it does not disturb the passage of flood by increasing the resistance to flow causing aggradations.
  • The committee suggests that shoals formed close to Farakka Barrage may be de-silted/dredged by taking care of the river training works around it.
  • The Ganga Flood Control Commission, headed by Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation with the Chief Ministers of Ganga river basin States and Member, NITI Ayog may be entrusted with additional mandate to carry out necessary studies with regard to sediment management in river Ganga and incorporate sediment management strategies in their comprehensive plans prepared for all sub-basins of river Ganga.

Reference:
http://wrmin.nic.in/writereaddata/Ganga%20Desiltation%20Committee%20-%20Final%20Report.pdf
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=161961