 |
Namaami Gange: Rejuvenating the Holy River
EXCERPTS
EARLY APPROACHES AND EXPENDITURES
In 1985, the Central Ganga Authority was established by the then PM, Rajiv Gandhi, with an initial budget of Rs 3.50 billion. The mission to clean the Ganga took off in June 1986 under the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) (Refer to Exhibit II for the Ganga Action Plan) in two phases. Phase I covered 25 towns lying along the river, spread across three states (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal) . The program of river cleaning was later extended to other major polluted tributaries of the Ganga namely, the Yamuna, the Gomti, the Damodar, and the Mahananda under two separate schemes of GAP – Phase-II and the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) in 1993 and 1995 respectively. These plans covered 59 towns across seven states (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Haryana) . In July 1995, the Central Ganga Authority was re-designated as the National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD)... |
|
FAILURES ENCOUNTERED
The GAP collapsed miserably but the Central and State Governments refused to acknowledge the failure. GAP I, which was expected to be completed in 6-7 years’ time, was delayed considerably due to problems like land acquisition, court litigation, and lack of experience in carrying out such projects. GAP Phase I was declared closed in March 2000...
NAMAMI GANGE
When the Modi government started the ‘Clean Ganga’ program, the issues it faced were the same as the ones the previous governments had tried to address. Untreated sewerage and industrial waste were let into the river; there was reduced flow and uncontrolled withdrawal of water. Along with these, the Ganga faced new challenges due to climate change – glacial retreat, increased flow in winter, and decreasing ice mass...
CHALLENGES AHEAD
Though the government had initiated several steps, experts said implementation of the plan would be challenging as the river had cultural and socio-economic significance for Indians, despite the fact that it had been exploited for several decades...
EXHIBITS
Exhibit I: Utilization of CGF.
Exhibit II: Objectives of Ganga Action Plan.
Exhibit III: Power & Functions of NGRBA.
Exhibit IV: Causes of Failure of Clean Ganga Mission.
