Transcript Document

Various Initiatives Taken To
Save The River Ganga
By Mohit, Sraavya, Pranjal,
Shivani, Shuchita, Vishakha
LNMIIT Jaipur
April 2011
Swatcha Ganga Campaign
The Sankat Mochan Foundation, Varanasi, India (SMF)
Founded in 1982 and working as a catalyst agent to arouse interest in cleaning
Ganga, SMF drew the attention of the Government Of India.
In response, the Government created the Central Ganga Authority (CGA) and the
Ganga Project Directorate (GPA) in 1985.
In 1986, the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was launched to clean the Ganga River in
Varanasi and other important cities.
a total of about 4oo crores Rs. (out of which 50 crores were spent in Varanasi) had
been spent to intercept and divert the sewage coming into the river, to treat the
sewage, and to create a distribution system to allow the treated sewage to be used
by farmers for agricultural purposes.
Unfortunately, the GAP was monopolized by the
bureaucracy and there was no room for citizens or the
SMF to participate effectively in implementation of the
GAP.
With support received from SBI and SNF, the SMF set
up a first class water quality testing lab at Tulsi Ghat on
the banks of the Ganga in Varanasi and started
monitoring the river’s water quality, the quality of treated
effluent coming out of the sewage treatment plant, and
the overall performance of the GAP. The SMF’s
monitoring activities between 1993 and 1995 and study
of the GAP revealed the startling findings that the GAP
had not been successful. These findings prompted the
government to formulate a GAP phase II plan to
complete the unfinished work started with the GAP
(Phase I).
The SMF was the first organization to raise the
issue of the need for fecal coli form control to
protect public health and to point out that point
sources of sewage contribute more substantially
to the river’s pollution compared to non-point
sources. Neither the Central Pollution Control
Board, the State Pollution Control Board, other
planning agencies, nor the implementers of the
GAP had taken into account the need of fecal
coli form control in planning the GAP. The result
of this blunder was obvious in the failure of the
GAP sewage treatment plants to control fecal
coli form contamination. This failure of the GAP
was only one of several failures successfully
exposed by the SMF.
Salient features of the SMF proposal for the GAP
phase II include: a pond system (AIWPS); a
total interception and diversion of the sewage
currently flowing into the Ganges using a
watertight interceptor running parallel to the
river. This interceptor would use no electricitydependent pumps and would depend on gravity
for sewage removal to completely bypass the
religious bathing areas. The proposed sewage
treatment system described by the SMF is
technically appropriate and is already working
effectively. SMF needs to be able to support the
needed technical work to fully formulate the
construction plans for the sewage collection and
treatment systems. There is much to be done,
but success is definitely in sight.
Govt to take IITs’ help in effort to clean up Ganga :
India has turned to seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to help it
prepare a plan to clean the Ganga. The move comes after the government
has failed to do so after spending around Rs 900 crore over 25 years
through the Ganga Action Plan.
The joint committee comprising representatives from the IITs at Bombay,
Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee will submit their
first plan to the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) . Jairam
Ramesh, India’s environment minister, said the situation would have been
worse without GAP and added that the “involvement of the IITs is a good
step for the Ganga and all other river conservation (efforts) in the future.”
IIT-Kanpur will co-ordinate the effort, monitor progress of the plan and help
set up a project management board and project implementation and
coordination committee, according to the agreement between the ministry
and the IITs. “IITs will develop the detailed plan, maps and database of the
river conservation and advise implementable actions,” IIT-Kanpur director
Sanjay Dhande said. He added that the plan will be implemented by the
National Ganga River Basin Authority.
Nearly 400 million people depend on the Ganga for water and livelihood
along its 2,500km main branch. Ramesh said the government is for a “a
clean and flowing” Ganga and confirmed that two hydel projects, in Pala
Maneri and Bhaironghati (both in Uttarakhand) has been shelved. He added
that 40% of work, at a cost of Rs 600 crore, has been completed in the case
of the Loharinag Pala hydro power project in the same state that some
believe may be blocking flow of water into the Ganga.but this will be solved
soon he added.
New initiative seeks to protect river :
In November 2010, the government declared the Ganges a national
river and established the Ganga River Basin Authority to protect the
river.
This new initiative comes a quarter of a century after the first "Clean
Ganga Campaign" began.
The government says its plan replaces older piecemeal efforts with
an integrated approach that looks at both the quantity and the
quality of the water flow. The initiative has been widely welcomed.
Supporters of one group, Palawal Jogpit, of Haridwar, led
celebrations to the river at Varanasi. The group spokesman is
Jaideep Aeya.
"We are giving thanks to the government of India and the religious
bodies and those who work for the freedom of the Ganga," Aeya
explained. "Now the government of India has considered Ganga
Mya as a national river. We are giving thanks to them after 50 years
Ganga is a matter of pride for all the Ganga putras."
Aeya says health concerns are at the core of the latest initiative.
"If Ganga water is free from all pollutions and the sewerage they all
will be free from these diseases. And our view, the view of Puja
Samiran Jay Jimarad, is, 'clean India and healthy India'," Aeya said.
Adopt A Ghat
"Adopt a Ghat" program brought the schools and other local
institutions together to save the world famous historical Ghats at the
Ganga’s bank to maintain their cleanliness schemes with support
from SIDA. In the year 2003, SMF and Oz-GREEN, Australia in
cooperation organized the International Students Congress, in which
participants from Australia, Bangladesh and many schools from
Indian cities attended and decided their action plan for pollution
reduction of rivers, especially Ganges.
In the year 2004, "Clean Ganga - Clean Ghat" is a collaborative
exhibition project implemented with support of British High
Commission, New Delhi, under the SIDA project "Clean Ganga
Conclave" at Tulsi ghat, under the CSPP Clean Ganga Day
organized at New Delhi. In 2005, SMF & Oz-GREEN organized 3rd
International Students Congress MoU, who signed between Times
Foundation, K.K. Jajodia Foundation and Art of Living Foundation
for the Holy Ganga Initiative Students from Australia and Sweden
took part in World Environment Day celebration Clean Ganga Day
organized in New Delhi MoU signed with Oxfam Svaraj for cleaning
the River Ganga water front and ghats of Varanasi.