The 19^th Meeting of the Ganga Flood Control Board (GFCB) was held at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi on 27^th October 2026 under the chairmanship of Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri C. R. Patil. The meeting was attended by Shri Suvendu Adhikari, Chief Minister of West Bengal; Shri Ram Nath Thakur, Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India; Prof. K. V. Raju, Member, NITI Aayog ; Shri Vijay Kumar Choudhary, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar and Minister for Water Resources, Government of Bihar; Shri Swatantra Dev Singh, Minister for Jal Shakti, Government of Uttar Pradesh; representatives of the Ganga Basin States; senior officials of the Central and State Governments; and representatives of the concerned agencies.

The Ganga Flood Control Board (GFCB) was constituted by the Government of India on 18 April 1972 to facilitate coordinated planning and implementation of measures to address flood, erosion and drainage problems in the Ganga Basin. The Board is chaired by the Union Minister of Jal Shakti and comprises representatives of the concerned Central Ministries and Chief Ministers of the Ganga Basin States or their representatives, with the Chairman, Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC), serving as its Member Secretary. It provides a high-level institutional platform for strengthening Centre–State cooperation and coordinated flood management across the Ganga Basin. The meeting provided an opportunity to review ongoing initiatives, strengthen interstate coordination and deliberate upon emerging approaches for effective flood management.

During the meeting, the Union Minister of Jal Shakti launched the Punah Bharan Mobile App, developed by the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics in collaboration with the National Water Mission. The application aims to facilitate scientific identification of suitable locations for artificial groundwater recharge interventions.

The Board deliberated on the revised mandate and restructuring of the Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC), which includes strengthening basin-level flood management planning, appraisal of flood management schemes, river morphology and sedimentation studies, and development of a Flood Management Information System (FMIS). The revised institutional arrangements are expected to improve coordination, technical appraisal and timely decision making.

The discussions also focused on preparation of risk-based basin Master Plans, assessment of the adequacy of waterways and ventways under bridges, improving the quality of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs), timely implementation of flood management projects and application of modern technologies in flood management.

Emphasis was laid on strengthening coordination among Central Ministries, State Governments and other stakeholders, particularly in addressing issues relating to river morphology, drainage congestion, infrastructure development and flood resilience. The importance of modern survey techniques, sound technical investigations, appropriate statutory clearances and timely resolution of project implementation bottlenecks was also highlighted.

The meeting reaffirmed the importance of an integrated, risk-informed and technology-enabled approach to flood management, supported by effective Centre–State cooperation, improved technical standards and coordinated implementation of flood management measures across the Ganga Basin.

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