Niharika Shah

IBDP Year II
Environmental System and Societies

CASE STUDY: RIVER GANGES

The basin of the river Ganges in northern India is one of the largest water catchments in the world in
which water resources are dominated by large-scale groundwater systems. Human influence,
especially agricultural water use, is already having an impact on water availability in the Ganges
basin.

IMPORTANT FACTS:

The river Ganga is regarded sacred to the Hindus. Every day, Hindus bathe in it, offer flowers
and diyas as a part of their cultural and religious rituals.
Water availability in the river is highly dependent on monsoons (June to October).
Precipitation can be influenced by the dryer soils expected as a result of climate change. This
can affect cloud formation and monsoon variability, altering the timing, intensity and
duration of the summer rainfall. This could significantly affect the amount of water available
to farmers.

KEY ISSUES:

The pressure on water resources in the Ganges basin will further increase in the
near future for two main reasons.
- Expected growth in population to 1.5 billion by 2020
- Rapid urbanisation and economic growth - increasing the demand for water
Religious waste and other such non-biodegradable waste - choking and blocking
the drainage systems.

SOLUTIONS:
Computer models of an atmosphere-surface-groundwater system - to understand
the impacts of climate on water availability in the area and to assess any relevant
climate feedbacks. This will enable evaluation of natural and human influences on
water resources in the basin.
Increasing competition for water from a variety of sectors will require appropriate
resource management for Indias sustainable future.
Preventing and curtailing all waste water
Implementing a detailed legislation that prevents any source of pollution or
threats to the health of the national river. (National Ganga Rights Act)
Continual stakeholder involvement - encouraging training and capacity-building
programs [process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities,
processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt,
and thrive in the fast-changing world.]
Mass awareness campaigns and media-based water eco-consciousness

SOCIAL IMPACTS Death of hundreds of people due to water-borne or enteric disease like typhoid,
dysentery and cholera.
POLITICAL IMPACTS

Despite the tremendous importance of the Ganga, current laws are not giving the people and
government of India the tools they need to protect itand themselves from harm. Today the Ganga
River and its tributaries are governed by legislation that only attempts to limit the degree of harm
that can be inflicted, rather than prevent it. The river is managed as property, without any rights of
its own its treatment is governed by the whims of those entities (private or government) deemed
to own the Ganga. Clearly, such a system of ownership fails to protect the interests of either the
Ganga or of the millions of people who depend upon it for survival.

The Ganga Rights Act would:

Establish the Gangas right to exist, thrive, regenerate, and evolve;

Empower individuals, groups, and governments within India to protect and defend the Gangas rights
in the court of law;

Affirm the rights of people, plants, fish and animals to a healthy Ganga;

Provide that any activity that interferes with the Gangas rights will be prohibited;

Provide that any damages that may be awarded for violations of the Gangas rights will be used to
restore its ecosystem to its pre-damaged state;

Institute enforcement mechanisms to protect and defend the Gangas rights, including establishing
governmental offices responsible for defending those rights.

Best Course of Action : GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION

Ganga Action Plan

The Ganga action plan was, launched by Shri Rajeev Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India on
14 Jan. 1986 with the main objective of pollution abatement, to improve the water quality by
Interception, Diversion and treatment of domestic sewage and present toxic and industrial
chemical wastes from identified grossly polluting units entering into the river.
New technology of sewage treatment like Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) and sewage
treatment through afforestation has been successfully developed.
Rehabilitation of soft-shelled turtles for pollution abatement of river have been demonstrated and
found useful.
The ultimate objective of the GAP is to have an approach of integrated river basin management
considering the various dynamic inter-actions between abiotic and biotic eco-system.
Notwithstanding some delay in the completion of the first phase of GAP it has generated
considerable interest and set the scene for evolving a national approach towards replicating this
program for the other polluted rivers of the country.
The Government of India proposed to extend this model with suitable modifications to the
national level through a National River Action Plan (NRAP). The NRAP mainly draws upon the
lessons learnt and the experience gained from the GAP besides seeking the views of the State
Governments and the other concerned Departments/Agencies. Under NRCP scheme the CPCB
had conducted river basin studies and had identified 19 gross polluted stretches and 14 less
polluted stretches along 19 rivers, which include 11 stretches situated along 7 rivers of M.P.