The Ganga, one the longest rivers in the world, sustains more than 40 per cent of India’s population. People, however, have not been kind to the Ganga. They have polluted the river in myriad ways. Cleaning the Ganga has been a gigantic task, often a political duty of governments over the years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed it as his “destiny” to serve the Ganga.
Eight years ago the Modi government initiated the Namami Gange project to clean the Ganga. Now, the programme has made a significant shift―from merely cleaning the river through a network of sewage treatment plants, it is becoming a model for propelling rural economy with a focus on the cultural aspects of the Ganga. Last month, the United Nations recognised Namami Gange as one of the top 10 world restoration flagships to revive the natural world.
The director-general of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, G. Asok Kumar, who redoubled efforts to clean the Ganga, has an attachment to water. He is known as the rain man of India. In an earlier assignment, he was instrumental in the sanctioning of 9.5 lakh water conservation and rainwater harvesting structures in the country to rejuvenate the ground water. He has also spearheaded several innovative initiatives such as the monthly water talks.
Excerpts from an interview:
Q/How was Namami Gange recognised by the United Nations?
A/It is a big recognition for the Namami Gange. The United Nations is celebrating 2021-30 as the decade of ecosystem restoration. At the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biodiversity, the UN announced Namami Gange as one of the top 10 world restoration flagships. It was selected from over 150 such initiatives from across the globe. They had 10 principles for evaluation for recognising projects which have helped in halting and reversing degradation and ensuring people’s participation. There were interesting projects from countries like South Africa, Burkina Faso and China. It was an evaluation done by an independent agency, which went through scientific data and conducted field visits.
The recognition is important as Namami Gange is probably one of the largest programmes in the world. It is a flagship programme of the government of India that is closely monitored by the PMO as it is very close to the prime minister’s heart.
Q/And the progress?
A/The programme was started in 2014-15 with an outlay of 020,000 crore. And, in 2021, we got extension till 2026. The detailed project reports and planning were not proper, which slowed down the programme. In the last two years, we made sure that all stakeholders were involved, and people who were actually associated with the grounding of the programme were taken on board. The detailed project reports were properly prepared. We built the capacity to handle these programmes. We adopted the hybrid annuity model, which is used in highways’ development. This is now propagated by the World Bank as an effective model. We also came out with ‘one city and one operator’ model, which means the STPs [segmenting-targeting-positioning] operating in a single city are handled by the same operator to prevent shifting of blame.
Q/Modi gave the concept of Arth Ganga. That now seems to be the mainstay of the Ganga restoration project.
A/Namami Gange is to revive, clean and rejuvenate the river. There were four themes: Nirmal Dhara, Aviral Dhara, Jan Ganga and Gyan Ganga. Arth Ganga was added after the prime minister announced it in 2019. We are making it into a jan andolan (people’s movement) in more natural ways. Cleaning Ganga was more a contractor-driven work. Now, we are going for nature-based solutions by involving people living along the river, also students, and turning them into guardians of the Ganga. That is a change which has come in last one year, without compromising on the core mandate of the project.
Q/What does Arth Ganga entail?
A/We have identified six verticals for Arth Ganga. One is natural farming and increasing the income of farmers. The sewage can be treated, but the farms are spread across the length of the river. So, if farmers use chemical fertilisers and pesticides, these flow into the river. But, when they adopt natural means, it will help the river. This is the major thrust of Arth Ganga. We have organised around 15 meetings with farmer groups, where we have engaged over 3,000 farmers in the Ganga basin states.
Second is monetisation of the treated water and sludge for revenue generation by the urban local bodies, and conversion of sludge into reusable products. The water is given to public sector undertakings (PSUs). Third is livelihood generation where there are projects like the Ghaat Mein Haat, designed to sell local products. We also conduct programmes like Jalaj where volunteers work to protect biodiversity, act as tourist guides, work in interpretation centres, sell local products and create homestays.
Then there is cultural heritage and tourism. There are a lot of places of importance along the Ganga. We conducted a study to identify cultural and historical sites. We checked on events, traditions, cuisines, festivals and products along the river. We are promoting holding of Ganga aartis by the river.
Q/How is Namami Gange involved in holding Ganga aartis?
A/Ganga aarti has started in many places. We are training people in conjunction with Parmarth Niketan ashram (Rishikesh). Already 60 people have been trained. Training is being done to follow standard operating procedures. So, the aartis could have 75 per cent uniformity, and rest can be local traditions. We recently started aarti at the Yamuna. This will help in getting tourists, generating income and keeping the ghats clean. It will also help in local economic development.
Q/When will the Ganga be clean?
A/We are focusing on polluted stretches, and in the next two years we will be able to stop drains from flowing into the Ganga. Cleaning is a continuous process. We are ensuring that the inflow of dirty water into the river is stopped; the drains are tapped and corrected; chemical based agriculture is reduced. The Ganga mainstream is rather clean. We are focusing on tributaries, like the Yamuna. By March we will have another 1,000 millions of litres per day capacity for sewage treatment plants (STPs). We have identified various polluted rivers, and are monitoring the works along with state governments.
Q/We appear to be a long way from ensuring clean rivers.
A/Rivers are the most easy way of disposing garbage and sewage. The municipal commissioners never thought about the river as a way to enhance their cities. The cities dump the waste there, thinking it will go downstream. They forget that there is city around the river. In the process, the river was violated and vitiated. We are conducting training programmes, along with the National Institute of Urban Affairs, to create urban river management plans. We have formed river city alliance with 30 cities, which has increased to 74 cities with rivers by their side. We are telling them how to use rivers to enhance the capabilities in cities. All big cities along the river, across the world, use their river systems very well. It is used for cruising, riverfront development and property development. We are telling them how to make rivers part of their urban planning. Earlier the focus was on roads, flyovers and parks. We are sensitising people that river is an engine of growth.
Q/Mahakumbh is coming up in 2025. Will the Ganga be clean?
A/Last time when we had Mahakumbh, we had a clean Ganga. We expected seven crore people, but 20 crore came. The publicity was from word of mouth that the river was clean. Even the prime minister took bath in the Ganga, which means the river was clean.