Agony of Ganga: Recommendations of a round table Conference held at IIC, New Delhi in July 2012

A round table conference was jointly organized by Ganga Sewa Mission (GSM), Hazrat Saleem Chisti Foundation (HSCF) and India International Centre (IIC) on 14^th and 15^th July in New Delhi. Nearly 100 persons participated in the two days conference held at IIC. These included political leaders, senior retired civil servants, Ganga activists, experts and Ganga devotees. The idea was to bring them together for the cause of an aviral (uninterrupted) and nirmal (pure) Ganga. The conference discussed issues related to comprehensive planning for the Ganga River Basin, urban governance for prevention of pollution in Ganga and need for water conservation in agriculture and other usage to reduce the diversion of water from Ganga for canals and water supply schemes.

Ganga Basin

Image courtesy: Ganga Sewa Mission, http://ganga1.drupalgardens.com/

The Ganga movement is one of the largest movements of Indian masses. Even after numerous efforts, the crisis of the Ganga is yet to be addressed properly by the Government. In this conference, the effort was not merely to reflect on the errors of the past, which began with the acts of British Imperial Rule in India and continued in post independence India without due reflection on the national perspective but to suggest concrete steps that could correct these historical wrongs.

The deliberations of the conference were planned in three different sessions: (i) the comprehensive planning for river basin of the Ganges with the principle of water use for public good (and not for private or corporate good); (ii) challenges of urban governance in the river basin to prevent domestic and industrial pollution; and (iii) the options for reducing the diversion of water from Ganga river system through the canals by water conservation and other measures.

The brainstorming sessions provided an opportunity for discussions, debate and deliberations on the crisis associated with the preservation and resurrection of the river. Participants shared specific concrete steps that can help achieve effective management of the river within stipulated timeframe.

The main recommendations of the Conference were:

• The draft water policy should make categorical declaration of “Water and rivers to be treated as public good and all usage to be guided by this policy directive".
• Ensuring the optimum flow in the Ganga river in all seasons including lean season is the first essential step to achieve the objective of aviral and nirmal Ganga. In this regard, besides other constitutional provisions and various judgments of the Courts, the national Government should keep as its reference the commitment made in 1916 to Ganga movement by the British Government. The National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) and the Indian Institute of Technogy (IITs) Consortium should place before the nation a comprehensive plan to achieve this objective. It should clearly outline the quantum of flow to be ensured at the point of different barrages and dams on Ganga river from Tehri to Varanasi to ensure this objective.
• Immediate decision should be taken by the NGRBA on the steps to prevent the dam building orgy in the different streams of Ganga in Uttarakhand, based on the report submitted by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and other similar reports. This should also include the cost benefit analysis and social audit of the ecological damage to the Himalayas and displacement caused due to current dam building frenzy in Uttarakhand since the constuction of the Tehri Dam. In case the conclusions of the Government Appointed Committee are not acceptable to Save Ganga Movement, it will decide the steps required to press its case further.
• At the same time, a Review Commission should be organized jointly by civil society and sant samaj to suggest steps for revenue increasing opportunities for Uttarakhand State and ways and means of ensuring appropriate development and basic infrastructure to achieve the aspirations of people of Uttarakhand.
• The NGRBA should ensure the rigorous monitoring and implementation of all the programs funded by it for prevention of pollution to Ganga river. The buck should not be passed on to the State Governments and the municipalities. This is in accordance with the terms of reference of the NGRBA.
• The GAP-1, GAP-2, JNNURM and NGRBA failures should be seriously reviewed. Wherever, serious corruption charges have been made against State Governments and Urban Local Bodies, these should be investigated by appropriate agencies including Central Bureau of Investigation, if required.
• The present suggestions by the IITs for Public Private Partnership (PPP) models for tertiary treatment of sewers should be debated and appropriate place should be given to the decentralized treatment system in the city sanitation plans. The nallahs diversion schemes should also be reviewed and all water bodies including nallahas should be protected.

Next steps

The Save Ganga movements on various platforms should put their act together to educate the nation of the various aspects of Ganga river, the cause of its present tragic state, the merits and demerits of various options being proposed and current & future potential options.  The Ganga Sewa Mission, the Hazrat Saleem Chisthi Foundation, and the other participants in the Conference took a resolve to continue working for the mission of saving the Ganga river. In this context, Ganga Sewa Mission makes a declaration of ‘Ganga Awahanam’ to undertake a program of national awakening for the Ganga river.

The outline of the program is as follows:

• A preparatory phase from 23^rd July to 23^rd August 2012:  This will be organized in seven centres - Haridwar, Delhi, Meerut-Garhmukteshwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, and Patna. Besides that, Chennai, Bangalore and Bombay will also participate. In all these centers, educational and dissemination activities, will be undertaken in schools, colleges and Universities and with the media.
• First step in this direction will be undertaken in Kanpur on 23^rd July, the day of Nagpanchami,  by Swami Gangaputra Anandswaroop, Arun Kumar (Pani Baba), Pirzada Rais Miyan Chishti, Soli Sorabjee, M C Gupta , L K Joshi,  Dr. Onkar Mittal, Atal Behari Sharma, Dr. Ashok Singh (Kashi Raj Parivar),  Trilochan Shastri,  Birendra Singh Pal, Devendra Kanthola and Dr. Bhagwati Prasad Purohit   
• The Ganga Sewa Mission also calls upon the countrymen, especially the political, bureaucratic and academic intelligentsia to do deep introspection of how all of us have been instrumental in contributing to the present tragic state of Ganga river. An internal process of penance through giving up of some of the modern amenities enjoyed by us, which are contributing factors to the destruction of Ganges, like use of bottled water, use of plastic bags , use of air-conditioners, will facilitate this process of deeper introspection and reflection.
• To initiate the process of collective penance, yagya, anushthan and other ritualistic activities will be launched from 23^rd August onwards. 

Edited version of  press release by Ganga Sewa Mission. The write up was forwarded to India Water Portal by Dr. Onkar Mittal, SACH, New Delhi and Mr. Viren Lobo, SPWD, New Delhi.