February 10, 2026
Md Nadimul Haque’s Zero Hour mention on the restoration of the original 120 km jurisdiction of the Farakka Barrage Project Authority
Sir, the Farakka Barrage is a Union project. It is controlled and operated by the Union Government. And yet, when West Bengal bears the devastating consequences of land erosion and siltation, the Union suddenly claims it has no responsibility. That is why the Farakka Barrage Project Authority’s full 120-Kilometre jurisdiction must be restored immediately. Sir, in 2005, the Union Government accepted a basic scientific reality that a river functions as a single system. Acting on this, it extended the Farakka’s jurisdiction to 40 Kilometres upstream and 80 Kilometres downstream. This decision was not political but hydrological. Sir, what changed in 2017 was the Union Government’s willingness to bear responsibility, when Farakka’s jurisdiction was cut down to 19.4 Kilometres. Erosion and siltation does not stop at notification boundaries. The Union made this position explicit in its letter dated 28th July, 2022 that the barrage project authority is responsible only for the safety of the barrage. Erosion beyond 19.4 kilometers is the State’s responsibility. At the same time, the Union retains complete control over barrage gates, and the silt regime. This is not federalism. This is the Union Government keeping power while exporting damage. Even the Joint Technical Committees appointed have identified erosion-prone stretches across Malda and Murshidabad, describing river behaviour as continuous and system-wide. They call for integrated-planning. The Union’s response was not coordination; it was withdrawal. No alternative authority was created. No compensation was offered. Sir, the costs are staggering. Since 2017, West Bengal has spent Rs. 168.47 crores on 31 vulnerable stretches and another Rs. 80.14 crores in a single year on just 14 Kilometres. Nearly 2,800 hectares of fertile land have been lost and properties worth Rs. 1,000 crores have been destroyed by the effects of a Centrally-controlled barrage. … You cannot call the Ganga a national river and walk away when it flows in Bengal. …… Restore the full 120- Kilometre jurisdiction of the Farakka Barrage Project Authority. Responsibility cannot be sliced away while control remains intact. The people of Bengal will not bear this cost.
