Sustainable Development of Ganga Basin

Views on
Eco-Development of Ganga River Basin: A Sustainable Approach

• River Ganga is the basis of life and principle source of economic, sociological, cultural and environmental development of its highly productive and densely populated basin.
• Human life on earth is governed by Nature; hence, objectives of the Ganga River Basin Development shall only be achieved through holistic ecological approach based on self regulatory mechanism to maintain the homeostasis.
• “Sustainably use it or lose it” may be the key slogan for resource utilization in Ganga River Basin.
• Engineering based technologies provide short term solutions only, but long term & sustainable solutions may only be achieved through biological methodologies based on regeneration ability.
• Numerous micro- and macro organisms, associated directly or indirectly with Ganga River, manage the river ecosystem through decomposition of the materials/pollutants and bio-geo-chemical cycles.
• Green belt of resilient and ecologically adaptable plant species on both banks of river will solve the non point pollution problem of the Ganga River. Green belt will act as kidney in filtering the pollutants and also check the soil erosion.
• Point pollution sources like city sewage and toxic industrial effluents should be treated in specific treatment plants before release into river. Treatment plants designed for temperate conditions do not work efficiently under tropical conditions, thus, they should be modified before implementation in India.
• The NGRBA may carefully review the short comings of GAP-1, for example:
(a) Accumulation of persistent toxic chemicals in crop plants (cereals, vegetables and
fruits) due to irrigation with treated water released from existing STPs.
(b) Mostly STPs were constructed on highly fertile croplands ignoring the basic
principles of eco- resource management.
(c) STPs were not designed for long term sustainability.
(d) Lack of individual responsibility for failure of various projects.
(e) Ignorance of temporal and spatial variability during data generation.
(f) Lack of local technical expert monitoring committees at grass root level.
(g) Shortage of efficient digital data storage and sharing system.
In the above connection, Hon’ble High Court, Allahabad noted that “improper planning and the failure of some of the scheme of GAP-1 almost everywhere and in particular at Varanasi, pollution instead being controlled has multiplied. Dinapur STP has not been able to give the required results.” Therefore, sustainability, suitability & location of STPs must be examined by the team having sound environmental/ecological/technological understanding.
• “Environmental State of Art of the Ganga River Basin” is urgently required for preparation and setting of the standards and future working norms. It must be emphasized that holistic ecosystem perspective of River Ganga Ecosystem is essential for sustainable development of Ganga River Basin.