The Bihar government set up an autonomous statutory State Disaster Management Authority under section (14) of National Disaster Management Act 2005. The government has drafted ‘A Roadmap to Disaster Risk Reduction 2030’ along the lines of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Mithapur Farm had been acting as a major water sink system that had, so far, protected half of the city’s settlement from serious water flooding, every year during monsoon. In 2008, the state government notified an act to develop a chain of educational institutions such as Chanakya Law University, Chandragupta Institute Of Management, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Aryabhatt Knowledge University, and IGNOU Regional Centre over the Mithapur Farm Area. Before such massive concretisation took place over a precious water body, the government had already shifted the city’s old bus-stand from Harding Park to Mithapur Farm.
The ‘Death Zone’ Of Patna
Mithapur-New Bypass Road is the main entryway into the core city. Thousands of vehicles and people, some of them barefoot, travel this route every day, making it one of the busiest roads in the state capital. This route has turned into a pond during the rainy season and the roads are not suitable for traveling anymore, what with deep potholes all across the way for around 2-3 kilometers. One can experience a close encounter with death every day while traveling this New Bypass-Mithapur Road. Yes, this is a Death Zone indeed and it is, shall we say, a government made disaster!
More importantly, neither the local Jakkanpur police nor the State Disaster Response Force has so far been deployed to help people. Disaster Risk is at its highest in this area of urban flooding where the government has destroyed an important natural drainage system permanently. Mithapur Farm had been a prominent perennially waterlogged wetland ecosystem which was an important livelihood for many, a source of fisheries and trapa-cum fish culture for locals.
When the international community and policymakers were advocating about the significant role of wetlands in an ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction, the Bihar government was arriving at a decision to convert such productive ecological disaster-resilient natural structures into a concrete building, to transform it into an educational hub. I feel that the state government perhaps ignored to study a fair environmental feasibility criterion and even they might have avoided a fair and transparent environmental impact assessment. I strongly feel that the government’s decision to destroy a precious waterlogged natural structure in a heavily populated area was the biggest policy blunder that made thousands of lives fall prey to the serious threat of urban flooding.
A few questions I want to ask the Bihar Government at once:
- Does the state government even understand the repercussions of converting such precious waterlogged wetlands ecosystems into a barren land?
- Whether the state Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change were informed before going through a complete concretisation of Mithapur Farm Area or there was a serious violation of environmental norms assigned under the EIA Notification 2006?
- Was it a policy blunder to endanger the lives of a major bulk of the population?
- Did the government assess the situation before planning on artificial drainage in a system that could have had equal potential for a natural drainage system?
- Was the state government not aware of the fact that they are endangering the lives of the students who had got admitted to pursue studies in this region?
- Why is the government blind-folded towards the possibility of a catastrophic affair where thousands of lives are in possible danger?
- Where are the State Disaster Response team and the local police?
- Did the state government ever study to assess and evaluate the gross monetary value of Mithapur Farm?
- Didn’t top executive officials advise the state government that concretising a natural drainage structure won’t be environmentally feasible and it would cost the state an additional loss aside from the fact that such a step would be dangerous for the existence and sustainability of a city?
- Even after facing severe water-logging and urban flooding every year (since over 2/3 area of the Mithapur Farm had already been destroyed), why did the state government not stop further construction to protect and restore the rest of the wetlands?
It is time to help people traverse this route daily. I will say that the government should immediately deploy emergency medical vans with the SDRF Team patrolling, along with the local police.
Primary Takeaways
Wetlands/peatlands/mangroves have. a significant role to play these days. These natural structures are the direct and indirect sources of almost the entire freshwater resources. Such an ecosystem provides immense resilience against water-borne disasters like flooding, drought, cyclones, tsunamis, and storms, and also provide natural drainage, having a vast potential to sink underwater. Thus it is time to strengthen our policies to protect and restore such significant natural structures, wherever they are.
The Mithapur Farm destruction reminds me of the latent potential of natural water bodies. The government should take a lesson from this major policy blunder. I feel that the three organs of the government viz; Legislature, Executive and Judiciary should be better informed not only about such a productive ecosystem but about the role of such a natural ecosystem in disaster risk reduction at the local, national and international level.
Such natural waterlogged wetlands are our future to combat climate change, acting as a major carbon sink system. Urban settlements can’t be sustainable until we restore and conserve natural drainage ecosystems. Concretising a wetland completely is not sustainable land use, rather it’s a serious land abuse. Ultimately, marginalised citizens will pay the cost of such unplanned development which I feel will further create an additional economic burden on middle classes. Such a policy blunder would only put lives in danger–of men, women, children, students, senior citizens.
Mitigating an ‘urban flood’ requires wise use of strategy to create insight awareness among officials; the latter should know that these wetlands aren’t barren but that they offer a precious, productive and prominent infrastructure in building a sustainable and smart city. This is the reason why major wetlands are facing serious policy intervention in the state. I feel an administrative reluctance and intentional institutional ignorance are promoting the degradation of the wetland ecosystem in the state. When will the 2030 Agenda and the Sendai Framework for DRR appreciate the significance of wetland ecology? For until then, it is pathetic to see such state-sponsored treatment of our precious wetlands.
State Of Disaster Response As It Stands Today
I wonder at the fact that thousands of people continue to travel via this route. Students studying in CNLU, CIMP, AKU, NIFT, etc. come from different regions of the country. These students are unfamiliar with the local landscape and the risks they pose. Given that the New Bypass – Mithapur Road is the central artery of the city, one can see that the government is not seriously working to mitigate urban flood risk. It seems to me that the State Disaster Authority isn’t considering the extreme threats to one and all posed by this region.
The Bihar State Disaster Management Authority drafted the Disaster Risk Reduction 2030, in accordance with Sendai Framework for DRR. It is easier to work it out on paper, and much more difficult to actually implement the measures on ground zero.
For the Sendai Framework, the first priority is Understanding Disaster Risk. Yet, I feel that neither the state government nor BSDMA has taken the trouble to understand disaster risk. Otherwise, they might have stopped destroying the waterlogged Mithapur Area and the government would have initiated work to restore the rest of the wetland area to mitigate the risk of urban flooding.
The second significant priority of the framework is Strengthening Disaster Governance to manage Disaster Risk. This reason for such chronic urban flooding lies in the lack of proper governance. In fact, to me, it seems as if all the organs of the government are under the illusion that they have developed a barren waterlogged land into a national level education hub. They have no regrets for having committed a blunder which will cost a vast demographic to live under serious disaster risk perpetually.
The third priority is ‘Investing in Disaster Risk Reduction for Resilience’. In the Mithapur case, it seems to me that the situation is the complete opposite. The state government has destroyed a perennially waterlogged ecosystem which was regulating the water cycle, nutrient cycle, protecting the city from disaster risk of urban flooding and acting as a natural carbon sink system. The government did not evaluate the gross natural capital of the Mithapur Farm ecosystem. I strongly feel if the economics of the ecosystem and biodiversity had been appropriately evaluated, the state government could have developed a better understanding of this particular area.
The fourth priority is ‘Enhancing Disaster Preparedness for Effective Response & to Build-Back Better in Recovery, Rehabilitation & Reconstruction’. I do not think there is an effective response from any of the government’s machinery, whether it’s the local police patrolling or deployment of the SDRF or intervention of the Municipal body. Perhaps the government has intentionally set itself aside and washed its hands off the matter.
The Community Disaster Management Plan/CDMP accepted the current top-bottom model of disaster response, but I think rescue and relief had so far failed to provide timely assistance to the affected people. The CDMP puts forward a comprehensive structure of decentralised disaster risk governance. I find that municipal bodies have the least role in disaster preparedness. Even municipal bodies aren’t equipped or aware of the levels of risk to the community. There is an immediate need to set up a Municipal Disaster Response Team to provide an instant and early response.
Response From Civil Society
I do not think the civil community is informed of the role of the ecological structure. They aren’t aware of the consequences they face when such an ecosystem gets destroyed. Yet, the wetlands serve as a source of livelihood for the marginalised people. Civil society does not see that they are staring water scarcity in the face in the near future. They don’t understand that their lives would turn into a living hell when the natural drainage disappears.
Possible Solution
The state government has been trying to make compromises since the process of concretsation started. The concerned department had been issuing tenders to create artificial drainage. In the last 8-9 years, there have been several occasions when they have made possible changes in the drainage pattern. But they know that their artificial drainage system can’t match the natural drainage. It’s a classic example of cutting down the stem on which you are sitting.
Rather than worrying about the drainage system, the government is focusing on a flyover construction from Mithapur Bridge to Bus-stand. I feel an under-construction flyover is another major factor of severe water-logging & potholes on the road. Flyover construction has been going on for the last 5-6 years and possibly it would take another 2-3 years to finish till which, people will continue to live in fear. It is the right moment to reconsider our policy and prioritise protection and restoration of the ecological structure. Our premier thinktank body NITI Ayog published the Composite Water Management Index (CWMI) and warned states to produce effective results in rainwater harvesting and water recharging so that an adequate level of underground water could have been maintained. The CWMI forecasts a drastic decline of underground water up to 40% by 2030, nationally.
The population of Patna is on the rise and it will promote real estate, which in turn would lead to more concretisation. Patna is listed under the Smart City project and I think it is time for the government to develop man-made wetlands so that we could minimise the effects of the enormous damages caused in the past. I know that we can’t match the carrying capacity of natural wetlands but we can try to mitigate urban flooding risk to some extent.
Full-Fledged Decentralisation Of Disaster Management
The Community Disaster Management Plan defines the significant role of the municipal body in disaster preparedness and response. But the Municipal body lacks a structure that is dedicated to Municipal Disaster Governance. I strongly feel it is high time more power is transferred to the local government. I think there should be a Municipal Secretariat, a Municipal Comptroller and an Auditor General. The District Collector can’t be expected to reach out to the city and villages at the same time via his Emergency Control Room.
Most of the time in my experience, there is an obvious delay in timely and instant response to disasters and the District Disaster Management Cell isn’t properly prepared for disaster risk reduction. When we equip local disaster governance and enable them to perform, only then can we expect an immediate response to a disaster. We can easily reach out to the affected people, rescuing and rehabilitate them as we see fit.
A Few Concluding Remarks
I am of the opinion that the state government could have built education institutions elsewhere rather than snatching up such a productive and climate-resilient ecological structure. The government should learn from previously committed policy blunders and should show firm commitment not to destroy such structures of disaster risk reduction and not to allow private firms or individuals to encroach into these areas.
We have been witnessing the rapid loss of wetlands, ponds, canals, wells, etc. Despite that, the State Government isn’t able to provide potable drinking water to over 70% of the population. The state’s groundwater report discloses that 22 districts are suffering from arsenic contamination from underground water, and 11 districts are affected by fluoride contamination from the same. Iron contamination is more or less uniform. This makes the role of wetlands as a natural water purifier even more significant.
The government knows this. Yet, the fact remains that wetlands are going to attain a slow death in this state, if not the whole country, and all the government is doing is strengthening policy measures to protect wetlands on paper. People should be made to realise that such ecosystems and prospering biodiversity are key to their safe existence and livelihoods.