GUEST COLUMN
Commander (retd) Amod K Chaudhary
Rivers have always played a crucial role in shaping human civilisations and in India, this relationship has been particularly profound. Indian rivers are more than just water bodies. They are the lifeblood of this subcontinent, providing sustenance, shaping cultures and nurturing some of the world’s earliest and most significant civilizations. The historical significance of Indian rivers extends beyond the multifaceted importance of Indian rivers in the development of civilisations, their influence on agriculture, trade and religion and their enduring legacy in modern India.
Indian rivers in modern times face severe crises caused by human encroachment of natural course of rivers, pollution from untreated sewage and industrial effluent as also the agriculture run off, melting down of glaciers due to climate change and increasing per capita demand. Of 400 plus rivers in India, over half of the rivers are polluted, with significant stretches, contaminated with organic waste, making them unfit for human consumption and usage. This crisis threatens both public health and India’s bio-diversity, with the increasing frequency of floods and droughts and a global contribution to urban/rural huge waste leakage into the water bodies. To add is the economic impact, while environmental degradation can lead to 9.5 per cent loss in GDP, rivers alone result in a GDP loss of about four per cent in India through pollution and flooding.
The awareness that freshwater is a finite, critical and limited resource on our planet needs to be spread. Out of the total 14 lakh cubic km of water on earth, only 2.5 per cent is usable fresh water in our rivers and lakes. Ironically, India with 18 per cent of global population has got only four per cent of the world’s fresh water. With this kind of lopsided distribution, can India be callous towards its fresh water sources and still dream of being a developed country?
As India is poised to be a developed country by the middle of this century, it’s a foregone conclusion that the battle between economics and ecology is going to be intense to an unprecedented scale in times to come. Hence, curative action for conservation and preservation of our rivers, our water bodies have to be a national priority. The present government’s efforts through Namami Gange for rejuvenation of Ganga, is a welcome step, but it leaves more questions than it provides answers. The river rejuvenation programme needs to be relooked in a more holistic manner. Acceptance of the present grim situation vis-à-vis a datum line before the industrialisation began in India, with an out of box approach can tackle the woes of the Indian river system. The government is duty bound to protect our rivers, our life sustaining assets and has to show intent, direction, visibility, accountability and out of box approach for keeping our rivers safe. This in essence has to be a mantra of new age for the governments, political parties, corporations, business houses and the society at large.
In the present momentous times, of free trade and the global village the world has become, the definition of “Swadeshi” in reality needs to be redefined, to conservation and preservation of “Hamari Mitti, Hamara Pani, Hamari Hawa” and the protection of these alone signifies the Swadeshi movement.
Is India ready for this fact check and work beyond “chalta hai” attitude towards our rivers, our soil and our air?
As a first measure, GOI should bring out a white paper on rivers and the associated riverine system across the country. This report must keep 1970 as the reference datum, using the technology and satellite imagery and enlist the current status of each of these assets in the country, with the specific GIS location. This needs to be further supplemented with the science to give an action plan for redemption, revival and rejuvenation of the complete river /water bodies system.
This will perform the dual role of presenting firm government policies; while at the same time will involve all stakeholders to give their opinion. This report will be the roadmap for regaining and revival of the Indian rivers system assigning responsibility of action at each level of government, for effective implementation and monitoring in a targeted manner. Presently the implementation agencies have only a general idea of things, without an effective result oriented action plan at a district to block level. India has requisite science and technology acumen and the domain data, unfortunately captured in files waiting to be unleashed.
The proposed white paper shall bring the science to enumerated action plans even to the Panchayat level works, pan India. This shall be the game changer. India needs to invest/innovate in its sewage treatment capacity, which regrettably is at 33 per cent. Also the effluent treatment and STPs parameters need to be brought in public domain through live dashboards for transparency and accountability. Impetus on building waste management technologies, with incubation centers for startups in waste management is also needed.
The current contractual system is only a transfer of responsibility from Urban local bodies (ULB’s) and does not bring any solution to waste management. It’s believed about 40 to 50 per cent of the plastic waste is being dumped in our water bodies/rivers, ultimately flowing into the seas. Interstate cooperation is a must as most rivers are passing through various States. Improvement in river/water management by a state government should be an incentive for higher allocation of Central funds. Large scale afforestation (linked to the livelihood of locals) on the banks and the catchment areas of the rivers need to be undertaken, to improve soil moisture retention and support a continuous base flow of water into the river.
Presently the green cover in the flood plains is much less than the national average of 26 per cent. Bring in plans to promote over 30 lakh ex-serviceman spread pan India in the role of Jal Prahri, with a scheme under the aegis of Kendriya Sainik Board. This scheme will provide institutional support on ground with Jal Prahari as custodian of the river systems. ULBs are the weakest link in the clean rivers mission. Strengthened ULBs, with a professional human resource giving sense of purpose and adequate funding for the humongous task of waste management, considering that in times to come, urbanisation and per capita consumption is going to increase manifold in Indian cities. With media/ social media influence, eco- politics, eco-economics, eco-homes, eco- roads, etc. needs to be a buzzword of the new generation to raise the larger awareness and new consciousness towards the protection of the nation’s ecology.
Environmental waste management laws need to have more stringent penalties for non-compliance and illegal dumping. Our waste warriors (rag pickers) are pivotal to effective recycling of plastic waste, thereby saving it from getting into our landfills and water bodies. Unfortunately they are the most exploited and downtrodden in the social ladder of our society. The government needs to bring them under institutional support of ULB’s, they need to be provided a minimum support price by the ULB’s/MRF’s to make plastic waste removal from the urban areas effective and efficient’.
While the crisis facing the Indian rivers system is severe, the combination of top-down government efforts and grassroots community initiative offers a path forward. Success will depend on acceptance to the problem and in working relentlessly. The incumbent government has shown a way ahead to many such complex problems, hope the government gives much needed attention to the crisis of the Indian Rivers system, because our rivers are our future.
(The author is CEO of Atulya Ganga, a military veterans’ initiative for Ganga rejuvenation; views expressed are personal)
