Says State has submitted four proposals but received no project under scheme in over a decade; seeks award in current financial year
Nagaland has urged the Centre to award the State a project under the Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP), saying it has not received a single project under the scheme for more than 10 years despite submitting four proposals.
Advisor for Water Resources and MLA Tongpang Ozukum made the appeal during the Department Summit–Water organised by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in New Delhi from September 1 to 2.
“For more than 10 years now, Nagaland has not received even a single FMBAP project,” Ozukum said, urging the Ministry of Jal Shakti to award the State a project during the current financial year.
Ozukum said Nagaland had submitted four proposals for consideration under the scheme, and appealed to the Ministry to address the State’s concerns regarding access to the programme.
The FMBAP demand was among several submissions made by Nagaland at the summit, which was held on the theme “Timely Completion of Water Infrastructure Projects.”
Ozukum said Nagaland’s primary concern in implementing water infrastructure projects was the timely release of funds, as the State has a limited working season of about six months, from November to April.
“Working season in Nagaland is only six months, from November to April and therefore for timely completion of water infrastructure projects, timely release of funds is of importance,” he said.
He sought relaxation of several existing funding and approval requirements, including allowing audit certificates to be submitted once every two years instead of every nine months.
Under the SNA-SPARSH system, Nagaland also requested that mother sanctions be released in a maximum of two instalments annually to facilitate implementation.
Ozukum further proposed that Minor Irrigation projects approved by the State Level Sanctioning Committee should not be required to undergo re-approval in subsequent years.
He also sought provision for price escalation in cases where delays in commencement result in cost overruns, saying this would help maintain the scope and quality of works.
Another proposal was to increase the development cost of Minor Irrigation Projects from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 6.5 lakh per hectare to address implementation challenges.
On flood and erosion management, Ozukum highlighted concerns in areas including the Chathe River in Chumukedima district, Tuli town in Mokokchung district and Naginimora in Mon district. He urged the Ministry to consider both conventional and non-conventional methods for anti-erosion projects.
Ozukum also highlighted Nagaland’s newly introduced Nagaland Strategic Water Resilience Initiative for 2026-27, aimed at improving water security through creation of water bodies, strategic water storage, rainwater harvesting and urban groundwater recharge.
He said the State faces water shortages during lean seasons despite receiving heavy monsoon rainfall, attributing the problem to its hilly terrain and high runoff. The State has consequently taken up farm ponds as micro water-harvesting structures under the NABARD Rural Infrastructure Development Fund.
The summit brought together Union Minister for Jal Shakti C.R. Patil, Ministers of State for Jal Shakti V. Somanna and Raj Bhushan Choudhary, and senior officials from the Centre and States; Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the valedictory session on September 2.
