Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday directed officials to conduct a thorough assessment of river conditions to develop a lasting solution to the state's flood problem.
While reviewing flood-related projects, he emphasised that priority should be given to dredging areas where excess silt has made river channels shallow, the UP government said in a statement.
If dredging is not feasible, alternative measures such as embankments and anti-erosion solutions should be implemented, Adityanath said, according to an official statement.
To ensure accurate planning, he instructed officials to conduct drone surveys of all rivers to gather precise local data.
During a high-level meeting on flood management and public safety, the chief minister reviewed the status of flood-sensitive districts, completed initiatives and pending projects.
He highlighted the success of well-planned interventions over the past eight years, which have significantly reduced the number of flood-prone districts.
Leveraging expert advice and modern technology, the state has made substantial progress in mitigating flood risks through effective inter-departmental coordination, the statement added.
The Principal Secretary of Irrigation informed the chief minister that, prioritising public safety, 1,575 flood projects have been completed since 2018-19, including 305 projects in 2024-25 alone.
Efforts this year have safeguarded 4.97 lakh hectares of land and benefited 60.45 lakh people, the statement said.
Adityanath instructed that all remaining projects scheduled for the current session be completed within the stipulated timeframe.
He warned against project delays, stating that they disrupt progress and inflate costs. As a strict measure, he declared that no budget revisions would be allowed for any project, the statement added.
The chief minister stated that 24 districts in the state fall under the highly sensitive category for floods, including Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Gorakhpur, Basti, Bahraich, Bijnor, Siddharthnagar, Ghazipur, Gonda, Ballia, Deoria, Sitapur, Balrampur, Ayodhya, Mau, Farrukhabad, Shravasti, Badaun, Ambedkar Nagar, Azamgarh, Sant Kabir Nagar, Pilibhit, and Barabanki.
Additionally, Saharanpur, Shamli, Aligarh, Bareilly, Hamirpur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Rampur, Prayagraj, Bulandshahr, Moradabad, Hardoi, Varanasi, Unnao, Lucknow, Shahjahanpur, and Kasganj have been classified as sensitive, the statement said.
He directed the concerned departments to remain on high alert, with senior officials conducting thorough inspections of highly sensitive and sensitive embankments.
The chief minister highlighted that Uttar Pradesh has constructed 523 embankments spanning 3,869 km across various rivers and 10,727 drains extending over 60,047 km for flood protection.
Given the potential flood risks, he directed continuous monitoring of all embankments and the completion of drain cleaning by March 31.
Additionally, he instructed that flood relief control rooms at both state and district levels operate around the clock.
The proposed flood mitigation projects in Shravasti, Gonda, Sitapur, Hardoi, and Barabanki must be completed on schedule and with assured quality.
He also stressed the need for strict vigilance to prevent illegal mining activities in rivers, the statement said.