6 Functions of River Basin Development Authorities (RBDA’s) are listed in this article. We hope you find it helpful and informative.

River Basin Development Authorities

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The River Basin Development Authorities in Nigeria are governmental agencies that are involved in how water resources are managed for agriculture as well as other purposes.

Each of the authorities works within a geomorphological and political boundary that is assigned to it and it works to improve rural and agricultural development by the control of river pollution, and irrigation and also to help farmers in food crop processing.

The operation of river basin authorities has greatly been influenced by the economic and political changes in the country, leaving a big vacuum and inconsistency in the agency such that ten years after the establishment of the agencies, their effect has been minimal.

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Functions of River Basin Development Authorities

The constitutional functions of each of the Authorities shall be:

1. To take up a detailed development of both the surface and underground water resources for divers use with specific emphasis laid upon the availability of irrigation infrastructure as well as the control of erosions and floods and for the management of the watershed.

2. To ensure the construction, operation, and maintenance of dams, polders, dikes, boreholes, irrigation, wells, and drainage systems and any other necessary work to enhance the achievement of the functions of the authority and also transfer all the lands to be used under the scheme of irrigation to the farmers.

3. To ensure the supply of water from the completed storage schemes if the authority to all the consumers for a stipulated fee which is subject to the determination of the concerned authority of course, with the approval of the minister in charge.

4. To facilitate the construction, operation, and maintenance of infrastructural services which includes bridges and roads that link up sites of projects; as long as such infrastructural services are listed amongst and also make up a vital part of the list of projects that have been approved.

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5. To come up with and also maintain a well-detailed water resources master plan or blueprint which will identify all the requirements of water resources in the areas of operation of the Authority Through constant collection and collation of water resources, use of water, environmental and socio-economic statistics of the River Basin.

6. Look into within the boundaries of the responsibilities listed in the first subsection of these functions shall be carried out with the consent of the Minister responsible for issues which have to do with water resources.