Tk31cr project to map 30,000 canals across country
The Ministry of Water Resources has undertaken a Tk31.57 crore technical assistance project to classify canals and develop a geo-information database to support future planning, conservation, flood control, and irrigation
Highlights:
- Government launches nationwide canal identification and mapping initiative
- Tk31.57 crore project builds comprehensive GIS canal database
- Over 30,000 canals, many lost to encroachment
- Project aims to improve planning, irrigation, flood control
- Database integrates with existing national river management system
- BNP pledges 20,000 kilometres canal excavation before election
The government has launched an initiative to identify and map canals, aiming to bring the country's waterways under a comprehensive management framework amid growing concerns over encroachment.
The Ministry of Water Resources has undertaken a Tk31.57 crore technical assistance project to classify canals and develop a geo-information database to support future planning, conservation, flood control, and irrigation.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The project will be implemented by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) with support from the Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Institutions Division of the Planning Commission. The work is scheduled for completion by June 2029.
Planning Commission sources said the project has been approved by the Planning Adviser of the interim government.
BWDB officials estimate that Bangladesh has more than 30,000 canals. However, many canals recorded in Bangladesh Survey (BS) and Revisional Survey (RS) records no longer exist, having been filled to make way for buildings, commercial establishments, and other structures.
The lack of a unified mapping system, standard classification framework, and clearly defined division of responsibilities has led to weak coordination, overlapping mandates, and duplication of efforts among agencies responsible for canal maintenance, they added.
Contacted, multiple top officials from the Planning Commission's Agriculture, Water Resources and Rural Institutions Division, however, declined to comment on the matter.
Under the new project, a comprehensive Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based canal network will be developed following the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management. The origin, outfall, flow path, basin, and sub-basin of each canal will be mapped. Canals will be categorised into three classes—large, medium, and small—based on their capacity for flood control, water retention, drainage, and irrigation.
The geo-database will also include associated infrastructure such as culverts, bridges, and regulators linked to rural roads. Cadastral Survey (CS) and RS maps, along with input from local communities, will inform the mapping process.
Earlier, under a project titled "Updating Information on the Rivers of Bangladesh and ICT-based Management," data on the country's flowing rivers were updated and an online platform and mobile app were developed.
The new canal database will be linked to the existing river database to strengthen integrated water resource management, officials said.
Efforts to reach AKM Shahabuddin, secretary of the Ministry of Water Resources, for comment were unsuccessful.
According to the Planning Commission, agencies such as the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), alongside BWDB, are currently engaged in excavating and maintaining internal canals and wetlands—often resulting in overlapping responsibilities.
Officials said that while updated information is available for rivers, there is no comprehensive and unified database for canals. The new system will be integrated with the river database to ensure long-term gains in water resource planning, flood management, irrigation expansion and environmental conservation.
Meanwhile, ahead of the 13th general election, in the party manifesto, BNP Chairman Tarique Rahman has announced that if the party forms the government, it will excavate or re-excavate 20,000 kilometres of canals and water bodies within five years.
Under the BNP proposal, at least 1,000 kilometres of canal excavation will be made visible within the first 180 days of forming the government.
On 26 February, the new government formed a cell, led by Mirza Abbas Uddin Ahmed, political adviser to the Prime Minister, to oversee canal excavation and re-excavation programmes.
