River Ganga, or the Ganges - the
most sacred river for Hindus and India's national
river - remains filthy despite whopping sums being
pumped into the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) for the
last 26 years, a damning report has revealed.
"Since 1986, there is not even a 1%
improvement in the river's condition despite
millions being spent under the GAP," concludes the
study by Dr Sandeep Kumar Behera, associate
director (river basins and biodiversity), World
Wildlife Fund (India).
According to the
scholar, who is also a member ofthe Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh-led National Ganga River Basin
Authority (NGRBA), the problem has only worsened
over the years. Over 50 drains today carry sewage
to the Ganga and
Yamuna rivers at
northern Allahabad compared to 13 before 1986,
states the report. In addition, the 84 bathing
ghats (banks) sandwiched between two
tributaries - Assi and Varuna - are now "huge
sewage drains".
Defilement of the river,
the study elaborates, begins at Rishikesh in
northern Uttarakhand when the river enters the
plains and in Kanpur where "the water stinks even
during monsoon when the river is flooded".
GAP, an environmental initiative to clean
up the Ganges fully sponsored by the central
government, is based on a comprehensive survey
conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board
on the state of the river in 1979. It was approved
by the cabinet in April 1985 and launched by then
prime minister Rajiv Gandhi with a promise "to
clean the river in five years".
The action
plan included 261 schemes spread over 25 towns of
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. GAP Phase I
was completed in March 2000 at a cost of about
US$90 million.
GAP Phase II was initiated
in 1993 and covered 59 towns located along the
river in the five states of Uttarakhand, UP,
Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal. Of the 319
schemes undertaken under the plan, 200 have been
completed. GAP Phase II was expanded into the
National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) in 2009
after the Ganga was declared the 'national river'.
Phase II, which was to be completed in
2001, was extended by seven years to 2008 due to
constant delays and inefficiency on the part of
Central, state Governments and contractors.
Over the years, the action plan has come
in for flak from environmentalists and dubbed "a
colossal failure". Corruption, lack of technical
expertise and a lack of environmental planning
amongst the myriad government agencies handling
the scheme are the primary reasons cited for this.
After an audit in 2006, exactly 20 years after
GAP's adoption, it was discovered that the project
had met "only 39 per cent of its target of sewage
treatment". In short, the GAP remains all plan, no
action.
The pollution in the Ganges was
also highlighted in August this year by India's
Environment and Forests Minister, Jayanthi
Natarajan: "The levels of bacterial contamination
in terms of fecal coliform are reported to be
exceeding the maximum permissible limit at a
number of locations," said the minister.
The Standing Committee on Environment and
Forests, in its report on the grants to the
environment ministry for the year 2012-13, also
reiterated the project's failure to check the
river's pollution. The ministry, said the report,
was only adopting an engineering-centric approach
with undue emphasis on sewage treatment plants. It
concluded that despite the efforts and huge
investment, "the pollution level in the Ganga
continues to rise unabated".
Originating
in the Himalayas, the Ganges travels across 2,250
kilometers through India to the Bay of Bengal
before merging with the Indian Ocean. It is ranked
among the top five most polluted rivers of the
world with its pollution threatening not only
humans, but also more than 140 fish species, 90
amphibian species and the endangered Ganges River
Dolphin.
The magnitude of the problem can
be gauged from the fact that the Ganga Basin,
amongst the world's most densely populated
regions, hosts over 400 million people. Over 2
million people ritually swim and bathe in the
river daily.
A raft of diseases plague the
river's polluted waters, a lethal cocktail of
garbage waste, sewage, human and livestock corpses
and toxic chemicals. Over 1.3 billion liters of
sewage, it is estimated, is dumped into the river
daily. Over 50 tanneries, 10 textile mills and
several other industrial companies shove 37
million gallons per day waste, and only have to
pay a small fee for it. Shockingly, there is no
legal provision or punitive measure against
dumping of waste into the river.
The
resultant pollution has naturally impacted the
river's wildlife. While earlier, the river was
full of plump glutinous fish - and supported a
thriving fishing industry - it is currently
struggling with dwindling species that are fast
becoming extinct. For instance, the Ganges River
Dolphin is an endangered species with only 4,000
of its kind remaining. Consequently, local
fishermen are relocating to look elsewhere for
work.
A crucial reason for the GAP's
failure, say experts, is the Indian government's
inability to engage sundry stakeholders, including
the local Hindu communities who not only interact
with the River Ganga, but have been the most
impacted by its policies.
Noted
environmentalist of Banaras Hindu University, B D
Tripathi has said that the problems plaguing the
Ganga can be solved by adopting a triple P Program
- Policy, Planning and Prevention. Others iterate
that the successful implementation of
environmental policies necessitates radical
changes in the behavior and mindsets of a
multitude of diverse groups of actors, not just
corporations and governments.
"People must
be sensitized about threats to the environment
with the help of local leaders who have a good
grasp of local belief systems. This will ensure
mass participation in setting the rules, in
determining sanctions and in other pressing issues
related to the management of the resource," says B
K Kandhari, an environmental engineer from Benaras
Hindu University.
Over $2 billion has
already been spent on the Ganga Action Plan I and
II. From 2009 to 2012, the center and the state
governments have additionally spent nearly $50
million in their efforts to clean the river. The
government has also inked a $1 billion deal with
the World Bank to clean the river by 2020.
But apart from the fiscal investment,
India's emotional investment in the Ganges is also
intense. In 2011, spiritual guru Swami Nigamanand
undertook a fast unto death demanding an end to
illegal sand mining in the Ganga, especially in
Haridwar where the Kumbh Mela, a mass Hindu
pilgrimage, takes place. The governments, both in
Uttarakhand and at the center, ignored his pleas.
The swami breathed his last after fasting for 115
days.
Since February 8 this year, G D
Agrawal, now Swami Sampurnanand, a former
professor with the Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT) Kanpur and a renowned environmental
scientist, has been on a hunger strike demanding
that all hydroelectric projects on the tributaries
of the Ganga be stopped "to maintain the purity of
the river, allow its continuous flow and protect
the flora and fauna in the river basin zone".
Perhaps the Indian government is waiting
for the second Swami's death to be spurred in to
action.
Neeta Lal is a widely
published writer/commentator who contributes to
many reputed national and international print and
Internet publications.
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