PARLIAMENT QUESTION: SEA-LEVEL RISE AND COASTAL CITY VULNERABILITIES

PARLIAMENT QUESTION: SEA-LEVEL RISE AND COASTAL CITY VULNERABILITIES

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information and Services (INCOIS), an autonomous institute under Ministry of Earth Sciences has prepared an interim report on the projected climate change induced Extreme Sea Levels and coastal vulnerability along the Indian coasts as part of Deep Ocean Mission. This report presents a comprehensive assessment of future sea-level rise and its implications for coastal India and the associated vulnerable maps for the 11 selected locations along the Indian coast. INCOIS also has published Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) maps at 1:100000 scale have been prepared including Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata based on the assessment of probable implications to the coast due to sea level rise, coastal slope, shoreline change rate, coastal elevation, coastal geomorphology, tidal range and significant wave height.

Further, a ‘Hazard line’ has been demarcated by the Survey of India (SOI) taking into account the extent of the flooding on the land area due to water level fluctuations, sea level rise and shoreline changes (erosion or accretion) occurring over a period of time.

Adaptation strategies are being developed to support smaller and mid-sized coastal cities that face high vulnerability but often lack adequate resources. The Government of India has initiated comprehensive strategies and action plans focused on climate change adaptation, mitigation, and resilience-building specifically for coastal areas as follows.

The various steps to safeguard the critical coastal infrastructure, freshwater sources, and livelihoods from flooding and saltwater intrusion in coastal regions are planned & executed by respective Maritime States/UT Governments. The Central government plays only a promotional, advisory & catalytic role in it. These projects are generally funded by States/ UTs from their own fund or from multilateral funding or through Central Assistance.

However, few of the steps taken by the Central Government to address the issues of coastal erosion are as given below:

The Government is integrating community participation and spatial planning as part of its approach to building effective and inclusive coastal resilience. This is reflected in the Integrated Coastal Risk Mitigation and Resilience Programme (ICRMRP), developed by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

The ICRMRP adopts a seven-component framework that includes not only technical and infrastructural measures such as risk assessment, early warning systems, and ecosystem resilience, but also community capacity building and sustainable development planning. These components emphasize active involvement of local communities in resilience efforts and promote spatial planning that considers socio-economic vulnerability, environmental sensitivity, and long-term sustainability.

This information was given by Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences, MoS PMO, MoS Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Department of Atomic Energy and Department of Space, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.