How difficult can it be to save India's sacred lifelineIJ Seriously
The Comptroller and Auditor General's (CAG's) report on the 'Namami Gange' project, which was tabled in Parliament this week, added a new and not very edifying chapter to the Ganga clean-up saga. In what may be termed an embarrassment, the CAG pulled up the Government for its lackluster performance in getting the Ganga flowing clean. Among other things, the CAG report slammed the Government for “inaction” and cited “under-utilisation” of funds and “delays” in implementation of projects as major lapses. Evidently, Rs 2,500 crore of the allocated funds for the project remained unused. Restoring the Ganga to its pristine glory has been the stated objective of successive Governments but little has been achieved so far. It all began in 1986, when the Rajiv Gandhi Government launched the first Ganga Action Plan (GAP) which was shut down in 2000 after gobbling up more than Rs 462 crore. A year later, a more ambitious program was rolled out, which besides earmarking a sum of Rs 2,285 crore, expanded the base area from earlier 25 towns to include 100 settlements but this plan too was a flop and was abandoned in 2004. In 2009, the Manmohan Singh Government constituted the Rs 7,000 crore National Ganga River Basin Authority which too could not achieve much. With the Narendra Modi Government coming to power, the project was rebranded as the ‘Namami Gange' project, for which a whopping Rs 20,000 crore was allocated. While the current administration has shown an inclination to close the GAP — more money was pumped in for sewage treatment, private players were roped in and the Government announced the formulation of an Act to save the river — that's about it. And the way to hell, as we know, is paved with good intentions.
There's clearly a lack of focus and coordination between the Centre, States and grassroots-level institutions. Secondly, too many agencies have been roped in and the lack of vigilance and monitoring is glaring. Thirdly, while improving sewage infrastructure and abatement pollution have been a top priority, no corresponding checks on managing affluent have been put in place. Hence, the river keeps getting polluted. And then there's the Indian citizen, who will religiously take his dip in the Ganga to cleanse his or her sins but seems to have no compunction in treating the sacred river like a nullah. Clean-up plans have never incorporated the idea of renewable resources to recharge the waters of the Ganga. If our leaders cutting across party lines could move beyond gimmickry and pay heed to the treatment methods suggested by Veer Bhadra Mishra, a hydraulics engineer from Varanasi who grew up along the banks of the Ganga, the ailing river would have been in rude good health by now. It's ironical that his treatment methods have been used abroad but not yet in India. Hey Gange!
