Activists involved in the conservation of the Ganga and other rivers in Uttarakhand believe that the Central Government’s assurance to the Supreme Court about completing Clean Ganga project by 2018 is hollow as the construction of dams on the Bhagirathi and tributaries of the Ganga in Uttarakhand continues to threaten the very existence of the Ganga. Cleaning the Ganga downstream would only yield temporary results because ensuring the free flow and volume of water in the river is vital to enable a river to clean itself, which the Central and State Governments continue to ignore in Uttarakhand where the Ganga and its tributaries originate, they State.
Mallika Bhanot of Ganga Ahvaan organisation said, “The politics of saving the Ganga must die for the Ganga to live. Simply cleaning the river downstream is a futile exercise without protecting it upstream. The State is reluctant to implement the Bhagirathi eco sensitive zone notification issued to protect the only remaining pristine part of the Ganga. The free flow, purity and conservation of Ganga and other rivers can be ensured only after enacting a national river conservation law,” she said.
Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organisation (HESCO) founder Dr Anil Joshi said that at present the scenario is not different from the scenario existing under the UPA Central Government. “The focus seems to be more on debate while no one seems to be concerned about the condition of the origin of the Ganga- the Gangotri glacier. Rivers have a natural system for cleaning- the free-flow and volume of water in the river cleans it so ensuring this is more important,” he added. Vimal Bhai of Matu Jansangathan opined, “The Clean Ganga project would result in cleaning up of government funds in stead of cleaning of the Ganga.”
According to Nadi Bachao Abhiyan’s Suresh Bhai, cleaning the Ganga with the involvement of corporate and multinationals will have only temporary effect until the States and society are directly involved. “To protect the Ganga, no large tunnel-based dams with reservoir should be allowed on its tributaries from their origin to a length of 150 kilometres. Only micro hydro power projects should be allowed in this zone.
Union minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Uma Bharti should also realise that simply undertaking a Yatra along the length of the Ganga starting from Gaumukh in Uttarakhand will be a waste of time if only BJP members are involved in deliberations without the involvement of the local stakeholders. At present it appears as if only the party members and multinationals are involved in deliberations on ensuring a clean and free-flowing Ganga,” he said. Most activists agree that the hundreds of dams proposed to be built on various rivers including tributaries of the Ganga in Uttarakhand threaten the existence of Ganga.