First implement existing laws, then formulate new ones, Times of India Jun 12, 2014,

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·       "First those (people and agencies) should be punished who allow sewage discharge into the Ganga under the existing laws before formulating any new law to prevent pollution in the river as sewage is the major factor behind the pollution in the Ganga," said Prof BD Tripathi, environmental scientist at Banaras Hindu University and expert member of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).

·       Reportedly the Union Government is mulling over a new law to check pollution in the Ganga under which spitting or throwing waste in Ganga is likely to be made a punishable offence. "We already have Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Environment (Protection) Act of 1986. There are provisions in these laws to take appropriate actions against the offenders. What is the need of a new law," wondered Tripathi further adding that there was a need of strict implementation of existing laws instead of bringing a new one.

·       "The holy river faces threats to its uninterrupted flow and its purity. There are sufficient provisions in existing laws to counter the threat (pollution) to river's 'nirmalta' (purity), but unfortunately there is no punitive provision to take action against those who pose threat to its 'aviralta' (uninterrupted flow)", he said. If it there is a need then it is of a law that can curb the activities that obstruct the free flow of Ganga," he said and added that it should also be ensured that the Ganga jal coming from Gomukh reach the Bay of Bengal. "People respect Ganga as a mother for the medicinal quality of its water which heals the wounds of body and soul. Before bringing any new law the government should also ensure that the rights of Ganga users are not violated," he said further adding that an open discussion should be done before formulation of a new law.

·       After the Stockholm conference on Human Environment in 1972, it was considered to have uniform law for all the environment problems and the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 was enacted for the same. The Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 was brought to control water pollution.

·       But, the Ganga is getting polluted everyday despite these laws and programmes started for cleaning the river. In Varanasi, the constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alone over 250 mld untreated sewage finds ways to the Ganga due to lack of required sewage treatment plants. "Who is accountable for it," questioned Tripathi further adding that accountability should be fixed and stringent action should be taken to end the miseries of the Ganga. At present, the city has three STPs with a total capacity of nearly 100mld while the sewage generation is over 350mld.