The declaration of the Ganga and the Yamuna as living entities signals a renewed effort to rescue our rivers. The coming together of judiciary and executive was the need of hour to achieve the goal of conserving our river bodies
In a recent landmark decision, the Uttarakhand High Court recognised the Ganga and the Yamuna rivers as the “first living entities of India”. The Ganga, known for its rich cultural heritage is the epicenter of religious beliefs in India.
However, off late, the river has been subjected to huge water pollution, and it even finds its dubious place among the worst polluted rivers in the world.
To combat this situation, the Government has taken up big campaigns to curb pollution of the Ganga water in recent times but none of them have been able to deliver the results, as were expected.
At a challenging time such as this, when the policy programmes are failing to deliver, the Uttarakhand High Court’s decision will not only prove to be a shot in the arm for the river conservation efforts, but will also infuse renewed enthusiasm in the people associated with the Ganga Action Plan.
The decision of the High Court puts the rivers at par with human beings and accords the rivers the same rights that are available to humans as per the Constitution. This by itself changes the equation as polluters of the rivers will now be charged not only as per the environmental laws but they can also be tried for violating the rights of a living entity.
The court has also instructed the Government to form a Ganga Administration Board for cleaning and ensuring better maintenance of the river.
This points towards a change of attitude of the State towards its natural assets. Thanks to the position adopted by the High Court, coupled with the change of guard in the State Government due to the recently concluded elections which may finally provide the right environment for Uttarakhand to reclaim and rejuvenate its ecological assets, especially the rivers.
A comprehensive and renewed effort to rescue the Ganga is very much the need of hour as multiple action plans have failed to deliver in the past.
The coming together of the judiciary and the executive signals the strong resolve of the authorities to achieve the goal of conserving the State’s river bodies.
In fact, the declaration of the Ganga as a ‘living entity’ should have been done much earlier, even before the announcement of the Ganga Action Plan. This would have not only served as a perfect beginning point for all the river rejuvenation projects to rally under but would have also helped spell out the objective of the projects as well from time to time.
The success and growth of the Swachch Bharat Abhiyaan is very much dependent on the accompanying actions being taken to make the drive successful.
For instance, one of the first activities undertaken by the new Government in Uttarakhand was to participate in a cleanliness drive on the banks of river Ganga with an aim to spread the ‘Swachcha Bharat’ and ‘Namami Gange’ message.
Globally, rivers are increasingly being treated as lifelines to an ever-growing population, the realisation of which is still to sink in as far as India is concerned.
Moreover, many countries do not suffer from either the red tape or policy paralysis that is typical to India. Countries across the world are taking fast paced initiatives to preserve their river resources.
For instance, the New Zealand Government has already declared the 145-km long Whanganui River as a living entity. At the time of declaration, the river became the first in the world to be legally recognised as a living entity. It was also granted rights as a human being.
Similarly, less developed countries such as Ecuador are also setting a benchmark of sorts when it comes to the preservation of nature. Ecuador became the first country to recognise rights of nature in its Constitution. Ecuador redrafted its Constitution in 2007-2008 and it was ratified by referendum by the people of Ecuador in September 2008.
The new Ecuadorian Constitution includes a Chapter: Rights for Nature.
These developments are testament to the fact irrespective of the size or development quotient of the nation, the conscience of the people coupled with the resolve of the Government is becoming the driving force for conservation of nature and rivers in particular.
The driving force behind any initiative has to be the will of the people, particularly so in the case of a democracy.
India has posted impressive growth inspite of its diverse issues and unique problems. But the development has taken an ecological toll, which now needs to be rectified and prevented from occurring again.
(The writer is an environmental journalist)