Why does Ganga matter so much?
The holy river Ganga has a prominent role in religion, which made it famous that the river was so pure that having bath in it could wash away the sins of mankind.
Scientifically and ecologically, the river holds a crucial position as it has a rich biodiversity, until polluted and the life line of many states. Sates get water for agricultural purpose etc from either Ganga or from its tributaries in Northern India.
Even, Ganga held crucial position in elections as well. In 2014, the agenda of one of the political party was to clean Ganga and the party came to power. In 2019 as well, it is going to impact upon the elections.
Moreover, the importance of Ganga would be narrowed down if only connected to elections. This river is life line for many. States have been getting all the water from Ganga river.
Is Ganga Polluted?
Even after a huge fund was created for cleaning Ganga, but no better results arrived in the end of five years. A study was published in the end of 2018 by the Central Pollution Control Board.
The results were shocking, as the report revealed that the water in the major stretches of West Bengal was highly polluted. In other states, the pollution was there, and in considerable amount.
Where is the Ganga Polluted?
The water quality of the Ganga has not shown any significant improvement either and it is deteriorating day by day. The quality of Ganga water downstream at several important locations, such as, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Patna still continues to be a major concern for the environmentalist, as well as the common man.
Who looks after Ganga?
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCS) is an implementing body of National Ganga Council which was set up in October 2016. The National Ganga River Basin Authority was dissolved by the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order 2016, and NMCG was created.
The holy river Ganga has a prominent role in religion, which made it famous that the river was so pure that having bath in it could wash away the sins of mankind.
 |
| The river Ganga |
Even, Ganga held crucial position in elections as well. In 2014, the agenda of one of the political party was to clean Ganga and the party came to power. In 2019 as well, it is going to impact upon the elections.
 |
| 2019 and more Natural Calamities |
Moreover, the importance of Ganga would be narrowed down if only connected to elections. This river is life line for many. States have been getting all the water from Ganga river.
Is Ganga Polluted?
Even after a huge fund was created for cleaning Ganga, but no better results arrived in the end of five years. A study was published in the end of 2018 by the Central Pollution Control Board.
The results were shocking, as the report revealed that the water in the major stretches of West Bengal was highly polluted. In other states, the pollution was there, and in considerable amount.
Where is the Ganga Polluted?
The water quality of the Ganga has not shown any significant improvement either and it is deteriorating day by day. The quality of Ganga water downstream at several important locations, such as, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi and Patna still continues to be a major concern for the environmentalist, as well as the common man.
Who looks after Ganga?
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCS) is an implementing body of National Ganga Council which was set up in October 2016. The National Ganga River Basin Authority was dissolved by the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order 2016, and NMCG was created.
Huge Amount of
investment from the government could not ensure the cleaning of Ganga.
The failures of the scheme are
the fact that the ministry has ignored the social aspects of pollution in the
river “government has so far adopted only engineering-centric approach to solve
the problem with undue emphasis on creation of sewage treatments plants etc.
The report pointed out delays, lapsed or complete non-implementation in areas like cleaning of the river, installation of sewage treatment plants, and construction of household toilets.
Government lacks in connecting the implementation with intentions. There remains a huge gap between two. Punitive measures as mentioned in the draft may affect negatively, so there should be a well thought plan.
 |
| Click here! |
The scheme of cleaning of
river failed because their catchment areas have been encroached upon and
diverted for construction and development activities. The retention capacity of
water/ rainwater in the catchment areas had considerably gone down due to which
the river does not get recharged.
Yet another reason for the
failure of cleaning Ganga is the day by day dwindling of their natural flow
which has resulted in the assimilating capacity of the river.
Namami Gange
Program was to create sewage infrastructure as Ganga has more faecal pollution.
There have been awareness campaigns, involvement of communities yet Ganga is
being more and more polluted.
CAG’s report and reasons for ' unclean Ganga'
According the
report from the CAG, this new push of clean Ganga is not delivering results. The
audit team samples 87 projects 73 ongoing, 13 completed and one abandoned. These
projects included the 11 institutional, five afforestation, and one biodiversity.
50 projects were sanctions after April 2014/.
|
| The Fly Ash can be a great resource |
The auditor’s
findings are quite startling. The government had only used $260 million of the
$1.05 billion earmarked for the flagship programme between April 2015 and March
2017. All of these projects had a consistent list of programs: unused funds, an
absence of a long-term plan, and delays in taking concrete action.
The report pointed out delays, lapsed or complete non-implementation in areas like cleaning of the river, installation of sewage treatment plants, and construction of household toilets.
The government failed
to come out with a detailed action plan for cleaning and management plan 2015
by the consortium of seven IITs, which was formed seven years ago to prepare a
plan on making the holy river pollution free.
In a nutshell,
poor planning, negligence in the utilization of allotted funds, lack of
coordination among various authorities are among the primary reasons that hampering
the implementation of the programmes.
As a result of
theses shortcoming, the water quality in the river is extremely poor as
revealed through the high presence of coliform bacteria, which is often used as
an indicator of diseases-causing pathogens. As the CAG, total coliform bacteria
levels in all the cities of UP, Bihar and West Bengal are between 6 to 334
times higher than prescribed levels.
Apart from the
allocation of the funds from the government, financial and technological
resources mobilization from the private sector is given priority. For instance,
captains of Indian trade and industry have
committed a support of nearly Rs 500 crores for the development of amenities
like Ghats, river fronts, crematoria and parks in various places along River
Ganga as a part of the Namami Gange Program. The hybrid annuity-PPP model,
which is so far prevalent in large scale projects, is adopted for the sewage
sector.
A way ahead
Government lacks in connecting the implementation with intentions. There remains a huge gap between two. Punitive measures as mentioned in the draft may affect negatively, so there should be a well thought plan.
A robust Sewage
Infrastructure is needed, and there has to be steps to increase river’s
ecology. There have been volunteer contribution in the process of
cleaning Ganga, and planting trees, however, there is a great need to do more,
and involve people. Therefore, it can be concluded that government should look
at administrative and implementation front, as well as calculative punishments
can be taken.
Click Here to Know More!
|
