Abstract

This case discusses the different projects taken up by various organizations in India to clean River Ganga and the challenges they faced. Represented as a goddess, Ganga in the Hindu religion is considered to be a holy river. The case chronicles the various events that resulted in the river becoming polluted. To clean the filth and garbage, many initiatives were taken by the Government of India over the years with huge amounts of money being spent. The Ganga Action Plans I & II failed drastically. In 2015, the ruling government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi (Modi) made attempts to rejuvenate the river with the ‘Namami Gange’ project. The estimated time frame for project completion was 18 years. To bring back the lost glory of the holy river, the Cabinet decided to set up the "Clean Ganga Fund (CGF)" which aimed at collecting money from volunteers. The government encouraged individuals, corporates, and institutions to contribute by adopting ghats, providing new technologies, carrying out research, and getting involved in creating awareness. Despite all its efforts, the government faced challenges and criticism. The industrial units found guilty of polluting the holy river did not have the resources to treat their sewage. There were allegations that the funds allocated for the project were being misused, that the planning and execution were faulty, etc. Experts opined that implementation of the plan would be very difficult because of the cultural and socio-economic significance of the river for Indians. The formation of many bodies for the project led to more complexity and the project did not get the required time and attention it deserved. Experts were also skeptical about whether the ruling political party would remain in power for the next 18 years. If not, then there was every possibility that the campaign would be abandoned like its predecessors.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Know about the initiatives taken to rejuvenate River Ganga
• Understand the underlying reasons that led to the holy river getting polluted
• Analyze the failures encountered and challenges faced during the Ganga cleaning projects

Keywords

Rejuvenating river Ganga, Causes of Pollution, GAP I & II ,Namaami Gange Plan, Challenges