NEW DELHI: Recently, the Parliamentary Committee report on the Yamuna River has suggested that at least 23 cumecs (Cubic Meters per Second) of water needs to be released from the Hathnikund barrage during nine non-monsoon months from October to June, in accordance with the recommendation of the National Institute of Hydrology, a government body in India. The report highlighted that almost no water is being released for the river from the Wazirabad barrage in Delhi.
However, an analysis of this report by SANDRP (South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People), an organization dedicated to rivers and dams, has raised more questions than it has answered regarding the causes behind the unusual flood spell in Delhi in July 2023. SANDRP has suggested that a thorough assessment of the July 2023 flood event in Delhi is necessary to understand and address the exact reasons, including discrepancies in water discharge figures, encroachment of floodplains, and siltation of the riverbed.
According to SANDRP, the current release of 10 cumecs of water is inadequate, as most of it evaporates or percolates soon after being released. A SANDRP member stated, “The committee has asked the Union Jal Shakti Minister to take urgent steps in this direction. In fact, the committee should have provided a time limit for this.”
With no official report explaining the causes behind the unusual flood spell in Delhi in July 2023, the issue remains to be fully explained, understood, and addressed. In light of this, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources, in its 27th report presented in Lok Sabha on February 6, 2024, has deliberated on the issue under Chapter X titled “Role of Barrages on River Yamuna and Flood Management in Delhi” (pages 60 to 66) and has recommended measures to avoid its reoccurrence (pages 86-88).
“A careful reading of the chapter has only compounded the flood mystery and raised questions about the operation and management of the Wazirabad and ITO barrages. The report has also revealed some contradictory and confusing statements by the Central Water Commission (CWC), Upper Yamuna River Board (UYRB), and the Haryana Government,” added one of the members.