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 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 electricity- dependent 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.