India leaders trade charges over flood

KATHMANDU, Sept 14 - It's been almost a month since the Koshi breached its embankment. But the blame game goes on. Leaders in the central and state governments in India are trading charges with one another.Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar recently formed an inquiry commission, which is to conduct ...

Inundation by this trans-border river affected around three million people in Bihar, and nearly 50,000 were displaced in Nepal.

The commission would be examining the steps taken by successive governments to implement the 1954 Nepal-India treaty, which provided for the constructing a high dam on the Koshi in Nepal to check flooding, reported The Times of India. Since little has been done on that count so far, the blame would certainly fall on the Center, which often paid lip service to the high dam proposal but did precious little for its construction, the newspaper said.

Many experts on either side of the border, however, are against the idea of a Koshi high dam and warn that it could be more destructive. Experts in both countries fear that given the region's location in a seismic zone and the nature of the river which carries silt in huge quantities the idea of constructing a high dam could be the cause of man-made devastation.

The commission is also mandated to examine the steps taken by the state government for the upkeep of the embankment between 1990 and 2005, when Lalu Prasad Yadav's party ruled the state. This provision indicates a deft move by the Chief Minister to reply to Yadav, who has been continuously blaming the state government for failing to stop "avoidable havoc.

The commission's terms of reference include finding out whether there was any "negligence by any individual, institution, and government officials" in preventing the breach on August 18, according to The Indian Express.

The terms of reference also require the commission to inquire into the Koshi's past, putting the central government's role and responsibility under scrutiny. The commission has been asked to find out whether the recommendations of the Koshi high-level committee, which includes representatives from the Center, were cleared by New Delhi and executed by the Bihar government, the report said.

The commission has also been asked to find out whether the "Koshi project was envisaged to provide temporary relief only for a period of 25 years" and "provided for construction of dam across Koshi, as well as some check dams across tributaries," reported The Indian Express.

The commission is to submit its report within six months.

The Koshi High-Level Committee is a central body that recommends necessary flood-control measures while the Bihar government is responsible for implementing them and maintaining the embankments.

According to the bilateral Koshi agreement, the government of Nepal can only facilitate the work of the Indian teams when they are in Nepali territory for construction or maintenance.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is expected to give top priority to the Koshi issue during his visit to India, which starts on Sunday.

Majority of political parties in Nepal have suggested Dahal press the Indian government to provide compensation to thousands of flood victims and for reconstruction work according to the bilateral agreement.