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River Pollution Abatement to Achieve Water Security. Issues, Challenges and Progress of Ganga Action Plan and Namami Gange Mission towards River Ganga Pollution Abatement in India

©2017 Textbook 114 Pages

Summary

Water security is crucial for a nation’s socio-economic growth and sustainable development. This research is motivated by the global environmental significance of water security for India with river pollution abatement as a means to achieve it. The case-study investigates two national river pollution abatement programs of the Ganga river – Ganga Action Plan (GAP) and Namami Gange Mission(NGM) – by analyzing their issues, challenges and progress. A human-geography based, mixed-method approach of literature review, policy-discourse analysis, semi-structured interviews and participant observation is adopted. The study builds on the achievements, failures, strengths, and weaknesses of GAP to critically analyze the vision, strategy and progress of NGM. Strong recommendations for improvements in the current strategy of NGM and scope for further research are suggested. This paper is one of the first academic documentations on NGM, laying a strong, fundamental progressive baseline for further study.

Excerpt

Table Of Contents


Deepankar, Divya: River Pollution Abatement to Achieve Water Security. Issues,
Challenges and Progress of Ganga Action Plan and Namami Gange Mission towards
River Ganga Pollution Abatement in India, Hamburg, Anchor Academic Publishing
2017
PDF-eBook-ISBN: 978-3-96067-707-9
Druck/Herstellung: Anchor Academic Publishing, Hamburg, 2017
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Table of Contents
List of Figures ... 6
List of Tables ... 7
List of Abbreviations ... 8
List of Scientific Units ... 12
Glossary of technical terms, native terms and phrases used ... 13
Preface... 15
Abstract ... 17
Chapter 1: Introduction ... 18
1.1
Background context... 18
1.2
Research Aims and Research Questions ... 21
1.3
Research Motivation ... 22
1.4
Research Purpose and Contribution ... 23
1.5
Preview of the Thesis ... 24
Chapter 2: Methodology and Site Selection ... 26
2.1
Research Methodology... 26
2.2
Justification for Field Work in India ... 27
2.3
Semi-Structured Interviews... 29
Chapter 3: Literature Review ... 31
3.1
The National River Ganga Basin ... 31
3.2
Ganga Action Plan (GAP)... 33
3

3.2.1
Initial Vision and Program Design of GAP ... 33
3.2.2
Water Quality of Ganga ... 36
3.3
NGRBA and NMCG ... 39
3.4
GRBMP and Namami Gange Mission ... 40
3.4.1
GRBMP... 41
3.4.2
Namami Gange Mission ... 44
3.5
Conclusion... 45
Chapter 4: Critical Examination of Ganga Action Plan ... 46
4.1
Strengths and Achievements of GAP... 46
4.1.1
Strengths of GAP ... 47
4.1.2
Achievements of GAP ... 48
4.2
Weaknesses and Failures of GAP ... 50
4.2.1
Weaknesses of GAP... 50
4.2.2
Failures of Implementation of GAP... 52
4.3
Conclusions ... 54
Chapter 5 : Namami Gange Mission ... 57
5.1
Progress of NGM ... 57
5.2
Issues and Challenges of NGM:... 63
5.2.1
Political ... 64
5.2.2
Development vs Environment... 65
5.2.3
Religious and Cultural Sentiment ... 66
5.2.4
Public Engagement and Communication... 67
4

5.3
Recommendations for NGM ... 69
5.4
Conclusions ... 73
Chapter 6: Conclusions ... 75
6.1
Is Namami Gange Mission : "Old Wine in a New Bottle"?... 75
6.2
India's Water Security- Local Solutions to a Common Global Problem? ... 76
6.3
Limitations, Original Contributions, Future Research ... 77
6.4
Final Conclusions ... 79
Appendices ... 81
Appendix I: Details of interviewees; interviewed from 18
th
June ­ 27
th
July , 2015 .. 81
Appendix 2: List of Questions for Semi-Structured Interviews ... 83
Part I : Scientific-Political ... 83
Part B : Social (Religious) Significance of Ganga & Namami Gange Mission: ... 83
Part C : Signaling the End of Interview: ... 84
Appendix 3 : The `Class B' Ganga River Water Quality Standards set by the Menon
Committee ... 85
Appendix 4 : State-Wise Status of GAP-I and GAP-II... 85
Appendix 5 : The Designated Best-Use Classification for Inland Waters by CPCB .. 86
Appendix 6 : NGRBA Members... 87
Appendix 7 : Free Prior Informed (Oral) Consent Form ... 88
Appendix 8 : Detailed Document of Court Case ... 89
Appendix 9 : M.C. Mehta Case on Polluting Tanneries (1987) ... 98
References ... 101
5

List of Figures
Figure 1.1: Global Physical and Economic Water Scarcity... .1
9
Figure 1. 2: Conceptual Map of Thesis...2
5
Figure 2.1: Map showing the major cities along the course of the Ganga...2
8
Figure 3.1: Drainage area of the Ganga river basin (across eleven states in India)...3
2
Figure 3.2: Institutional Arrangements for GAP...3
5
Figure 3.3: Organizational Structure for Preparing GRBMP ...
41
Figure 5.1: Problems being addressed in NGM...5
8
Figure 5.2: Strategy for NGM...5
9
Figure 5.3: Sewage infrastructure in eleven priority towns...
60
Figure 5.4: Inter-ministerial co-ordination for pollution abatement...
62
Figure 5.5: Hotspots of development vs pollution issues along the Ganga...6
5
6

List of Tables
Table 3.1: Components of GAP...3
4
Table 3.2: Average DO and BOD of Ganga water at monitoring stations... ......3
7
Table 3.3: Sewage Generation and Treatment Capacity created in the Ganga...3
8
7

List of Abbreviations
ASP
Activated Sludge Process
BHU
Banaras Hindu University
BOD
Biochemical Oxygen Demand
BRJP
Bihar Rajya Jal Parishad
CGWB
Central Ground Water Board.
COM
Communication
CPCB
Central Pollution Control Board
CWC
Central Water Commission
DBFO
Design-Build-Finance-Operate.
DO
Dissolved Oxygen
D/S
Downstream
DW & S
Drinking Water and Sanitation
E-Flows
Environmental Flows
EFL
Environmental Flows
EF & CC
Environment, Forests and Climate Change
ENB
Ecology and Biodiversity
EQP
Environmental Quality and Pollution
ETP
Effluent Treatment Plant
FAO
Food and Agricultural Organization.
FC
Fecal Coliform
FGM
Fluvial Geomorphology
FPIC
Free, Prior and Informed Consent
FRI
Forest Research Institute
8

GAP
Ganga Action Plan
GDM
Geo-Spatial Database Management
GOI
Government of India
GRB
Ganga River Basin
GRBEMP
Ganga River Basin Environment Management Plan
GSA
Ganga Seva Abhiyan
I & D
Interception and Diversion
IIPA
Indian Institute of Public Administration
IIT
Indian Institute of Technology
IITC
IIT Consortium
INR
Indian Rupees (1 USD = INR 66.27)
JNNURM
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
MDG
Millenium Development Goals
MLD
Million Litres per Day
MND
Mission Nirmal Dhara
MoD
Ministry of Defense
MoDWS
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation
MoEF
Ministry of Environment and Forests.
MoEFCC
Ministry of Environment and Forests & Climate Change
MoHRD
Ministry of Human Resources and Development
MoRD
Ministry of Rural Development
MoS&T
Ministry of Science and Technology
MoWR
Ministry of Water Resources
MoWR,RD &GR
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga
Rejuvenation
9

MoUD
Ministry of Urban Development
MPPCB
Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board
NCR
National Capital Region
NDA
National Democratic Alliance
NGM
Namami Gange Mission
NGO
Non-Governmental Organization
NGRBA
National Ganga River Basin Authority
NIH
National Institute of Hydrology (India)
NMCG
National Mission for Clean Ganga.
NRCA
National River Conservation Authority
NRCD
National River Conservation Directorate
NRCP
National River Conservation Plan
NRGB
National River Ganga Basin
NRGBMC
National River Ganga Basin Management Commission
NRGBT
National River Ganga Basin Tribunal
NYKS
Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (A Youth Volunteers
Organization)
PCCF
Principal Conservator of Forests
PICC
Project Implementation and Coordination Committee
PLG
Policy Law and Governance
PMB
Project Management Board
PPP
Public-Private Partnership
PRI
Panchayati Raj Institution
SEC
Socio Economic and Cultural
SMF
Sankat Mochan Foudation (NGO in Varanasi, India)
10

SPMG
State Level Program Management Groups
SGRCA
State Ganga River Conservation Authority
SPV
Special Purpose Vehicle
SRI
System of Rice Intensification.
STP
Sewage Treatment Plant
UASB
Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket
UD
Urban Development
UK
Uttrakhand
ULB
Urban Local Bodies
UP
Uttar Pradesh
UPA
United Progressive Alliance
UPJN
Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam
UN
United Nations
UNEP
United Nations Environment Programme.
URMP
Urban River Management Plan.
U/S
Upstream
USD
US Dollars (1 USD = INR 66.27)
WB
West Bengal
WB-PHED
West Bengal-Public Health Engineering Department
WR
Water Resources
WRIS
Water Resources Information System
WRM
Water Resource and Management
YAP
Yamuna Action Plan
11

List of Scientific Units
Unit
Meaning
Km
Kilometre
m
3
/capita/year
Cubic metre per capita per year
mg/l
Milligram/litre
Mho
The reciprocal of an ohm, a former unit of electrical
conductance. Mho is ohm spelt backward.
mho/cm
Unit to measure electrical conductivity
Ml
Milli litres
MLD
Million Litres per day
MPN
Most probable number
12

Glossary of technical terms, native terms and
phrases used
Term/Phrase
Meaning
Aastha
Faith/ belief
Abhiyan
Expedition or campaign
Arghyam
Religious offering to God
Aviral
Continuous
BOD
Biochemical oxygen demand is the amount of dissolved
oxygen needed by aerobic biological organisms in a body of
water to break down organic material present in a given water
sample at certain temperature over a specific time period
Class I
Cities in India with a population over 100,000 people
Class II
Cities in India with a population over 50,000 but less than
or equal to 100,000 people
Dhara
Flow
Dhobi ghat
A place where washer-man can wash clothes
DO
The amount of oxygen dissolved in a body of water as an
indication of health of the water and its ability to support a
balanced aquatic ecosystem
Ghats
A flight of steps leading down to a river bank, often the place
to perform religious practices
Ghariyal
A fish-eating crocodile
Gram Panchayat A Gram Panchayat is a local self-government institution at the
village or small town level in India and has a Sarpanch as
13

its elected head
Gyan
Knowledge
I.e
That is
Kashi
Another common name for the holy city of Varanasi in India.
Lean Flow
Summer flow when the water levels in the river are minimum
Maa
Mother in Hindi
Mitra
Friend
Moksha
Salvation
Nalas
Ravines draining sewage into rivers
Nirmal
Unpolluted
Pavitra Snan
Holy bath by taking a dip in the sacred waters of Ganga
Purana
Sanskrit sacred writings on Hindu mythology and folklore of varying
date and origin, the most ancient of which dates from the 4th century
Seva
Service or care
Vedas
Sacred Hindu texts
14

Preface
"If there is a book that you want to read and it hasn't been written yet, then you must
write it!" (Tony Morrison)
"Ganga is not just a river but an epitome of faith that lives in every cell of my
body...it is a part of our soul; right from birth until death and in rebirth..." As I heard
these words from my uncle over Skype in January, 2015, I had strangely never felt so
close to Ganga sitting thousands of miles away from India, here in Oxford discussing
possible topics for my research. Thus, began my personal journey to study the most
complex river basin in the magical diversity of the beautiful land called India.
I am indebted to many people for their support, but particularly, this research
study would have not been possible without the generous support of Shri Rajiv Ranjan
Mishra, whose mentorship and encouragement provided much needed insight and clarity
into this research. He gave me the courage to go forward, when I was unsure of my
emerging research abilities.
Further, I wouldn't have been able to conduct this study without the acceptance,
grace and humor of Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Ray who guided and took good care of me
throughout my stay for research in Varanasi. I would especially like to thank Professor
Vinod Tare for his contributions at IIT Kanpur, by giving an excellent comprehensive
explanation of his experiences and pioneering research work on the Ganga.
Many thanks to all the members of the NMCG who with their kindness, guided
me throughout my study in New Delhi. Thank you to Dr. Paul Whitehead, for his
intellectual and expert guidance, and for grinding through drafts to provide helpful
insight and suggestions.
Many thanks to my friends and classmates who supported me throughout the
writing journey, with a lot of shared laughter, tears, and copious amounts of cookies.
15

Lastly, my wonderful family that provided a lot of optimistic encouragement, and
support. I am greatly inspired by my uncle's, my father's and, my mother's passion to
revive the holy river Ganga, and have thus attempted to study the river conservation
programs. Any errors particularly in describing the political, cultural, social issues; and
interpretations of such, are solely mine.
This study was facilitated with travel grants from St. Anne's College, and the
Environmental Change Institute- School of Geography and the Environment, and the
Allan and Nesta Ferguson Scholarship.
For my family
Cover page Figure: Map of India (centre) (India Maps, 2015) showing the flow of the river Ganga
with images along the banks of the river (clockwise from top) 1) Ganga Barrage, Kanpur; 2)
Religious practices at Har ki Paudi, Haridwar; 3) View from the boat on the ghats of Varanasi; and
4) Boatman on the banks of Ganga at Assi Ghat, Varanasi (Candidate-131352, 2015)
16

Abstract
Water security is crucial for a nation's socio-economic growth and sustainable
development. This research is motivated by the global environmental significance of water
security for India with river pollution abatement as a means to achieve it. The case-study
investigates two national river pollution abatement programs- Ganga Action Plan(GAP), Namami
Gange Mission(NGM) of the Ganga river by analyzing their issues, challenges, and progress. A
human-geography based, mixed-method approach of literature review, policy-discourse analysis,
semi-structured interviews, and participant observation is adopted. The study builds on the
achievements, failures, strengths, and weaknesses of GAP to critically analyze the vision, strategy
and progress of NGM. The analysis concludes that GAP was a well-intended, poorly-
implemented river cleaning policy. Finally, strong recommendations for improvements in the
current strategy of NGM and scope for further research, are suggested. This paper is one of the
first academic documentations on NGM laying a strong, fundamental progressive baseline for
further study.
Keywords : Namami Gange Mission (NGM), Ganga Action Plan (GAP), river pollution
abatement.
17

Chapter 1: Introduction
"From her origin till her final destination, Mother Ganga implores, beckoning her
children from afar, to listen to her woes, my Son, my Child! Rid me off my filth, so all
cleansed up I flow."
( Narendra Damodardas Modi, Current Prime Minister of India, 2014).
This chapter gives an introduction to the conceptual framework, aims & objectives, and
context of this research project. It presents a preview of the thesis along with the key concepts
used, to establish the relevance and applicability to the aims & objectives, research questions,
methodology and field work sites chosen.
1.1
Background context
Water security is defined as ­ "the capacity of a population to safeguard sustainable
access to adequate quantities of acceptable quality water for sustaining livelihoods, human well-
being, and socio-economic development, for ensuring protection against water-borne pollution
and water-related disasters, and for preserving ecosystems in a climate of peace and political
stability" (UN-Water, 2013). This definition highlights water's centrality as the nucleus of
complex and interconnected challenges associated with sustainable development and human
well-being. Water scarcity or water insufficiency can be considered as the most basic measure of
water (in)security of a nation, in the present and near future. According to the UN ­"An area is
experiencing water stress when annual water supplies drop below 1,700 m
3
/capita/year"
(WWAP-WWDRP4, 2012, p. 124) .
18

Figure 1. 1: Global Physical and Economic Water Scarcity
Source- (WWAP-WWDRP4, 2012, p. 125)
The Figure 1.1 above clearly indicates that globally, water scarcity is much higher in
developing countries, with South Asia and Africa being the most water stressed regions.
Streamlining the focus on water scarcity in South Asia, particularly India, the figure 1.1 denotes
a critical economic water scarcity in the Northern and North-Eastern regions of India and
physical water scarcity in the rest of the country. As the largest democracy in the world with the
second largest global population, and the world's third largest economy by purchasing power
parity (WEO, 2015), India's impact on the global environment is tremendous. While it is
extremely disturbing to note that India suffers an economic water scarcity (Chasse, 2006), the
silver lining is that with economic development, political will, good governance, and public
support, this issue can be addressed.
With a population of over 1.2 billion people according to the 2011 census, India is a
water stressed region with an average water availability of about 1588 m
3
/ capita/year in 2010
(WRIS, 2015), lower than the required (for water sufficiency) 1700 m
3
/capita/year (WWAP-
WWDRP4, 2012). Considerable variations exist in the spatial and temporal distribution of
19

rainfall across India; therefore, in some parts of the country less than 700 m
3
/capita/year of water
maybe available (WRIS, 2015), much lower than even the minimum requirement of 1,000
m
3
/capita/year (UNDESA, 2014) indicating a severe water scarcity
.
Water scarcity in India can be chiefly attributed to anthropogenic causes- with the
exponential population growth since 1950's resulting in growing stress on natural resources and
mismanagement of water resources (Debu.C, 2014). Sewage discharge and industrial waste
entering into the rivers is dangerously shrinking the available quantity of potable water, and
critically affecting the biodiversity of fresh water habitats (Debu.C, 2014).
Consequently, it is clear that river water pollution is one of the origins of a very serious
emerging water scarcity, therefore- "investment in water security is a long-term pay-off for
human development and economic growth, with immediate visible short-term gains" (UN-Water,
2013). River pollution abatement is one of the means to increase fresh water availability in order
to achieve the greater goal of physical and economic water security in a developing nation like
India.
This research studies the river pollution abatement programs of India's national river and
its largest river basin ­ `The Ganga' (Singh D. , 2008) by particularly exploring the issues,
challenges and progress of the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) and the `Namami Gange Mission'
(NGM). I build on the achievements, failures, strengths, and weaknesses of the `Ganga Action
Plan' (GAP), a national river pollution abatement plan launched in 1986- "to reduce the pollution
load of river Ganga and improve its water quality by interception, diversion and treatment of
domestic sewage and industrial wastes" (MPPCB, 2014). Based on this, I critically analyze the
vision and progress of the `Namami Gange Mission'(NGM) launched in July,2014 as part of the
`Clean Ganga Mission' (Ramachandran, 2014).
The research encompasses the three relevant elements of the MSc in Environmental
Change and Management course- environmental study (Ganga river basin conservation),
environmental change (Ganga river pollution due to anthropogenic and natural causes), and
20

environmental management (GAP, NGM: pollution abatement programs); by taking the case of
the pollution of the river Ganga in India.
1.2
Research Aims and Research Questions
The primary objective of this research is to explore and analyze the issues, challenges and
progress of the `river pollution abatement programs in India' by studying the two pilot projects ­
the `Ganga Action Plan' and the `Namami Gange Mission'. The study also attempts to
comprehend the social implications of pollution in the Ganga River Basin to suggest on what can
be done further to achieve a clean, and pollution-free Ganga.
This research aims to answer two high-level questions (A & B) and a series of constituent
questions (A1 to A3; B1 to B3), the answers to each of which will effectively sum up to answer
them both. The research questions are as follows:
A. Was the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) a well-drafted, poorly-implemented river cleaning
policy?
A1. What were the main features of the GAP?
A2. How has the river Ganga changed/improved/degraded along its course in the last
30 years since the inception of GAP?
A3. What were the strengths/achievements, and weaknesses/ failures of the GAP?
B. What are the issues, challenges, and progress of the `Namami Gange Mission' (NGM)
towards achieving the mammoth task of Ganga rejuvenation?
B1. What are the aims, objectives and vision of the GRBMP and NGM?
B2. What are the projects proposed or sanctioned under NGM? What has been their
progress towards Ganga Rejuvenation so far?
B3. What are the issues and challenges faced by the NGM in the present and future to
accomplish Ganga Rejuvenation?
21

This paper answers the above two research questions in two interconnected halves. First ­
a policy discourse analysis of the GAP and GRBMP reports is conducted to critically analyze
and gain a clear perspective on the initial vision, program design, and institutional arrangements
for implementation and monitoring of the river-cleaning action plan. Second, I narrow down to a
human geography based, mixed-methods approach and advance to conduct semi-structured
sociological interviews of a wide group of stakeholders directly/indirectly associated with the
GAP and the NGM. The aim is to gain a critical understanding of the ground realities of both the
GAP and the NGM, and logically comprehend its strengths, weaknesses, issues, challenges, and
progress. Methodologically and substantively, the two parts are interlinked taking a social-
science approach. I then draw from the results of each investigation to comment and suggest on
the feasibility of the river pollution abatement plan of the Ganga River Basin towards achieving
water security in India in the near and distant future.
1.3
Research Motivation
The research motivation is influenced by the global environmental significance of water
security for India with the river pollution abatement as one of the solution's to achieving it
(Section 1.1). Water security is a global concern; and 2005-2015 was the "UN International
Decade for Action-Water for Life" (UN-Water, 2013). `Securing Sustainable Water for all' is a
primary agenda in the draft of post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals (UN-Water, 2014).
Second is the cultural heritage of the river Ganga itself; as today, "the `Ganga' is the only
river in the world that brings both science and divinity on the same page and challenges them
both equally!" For the people of India, the holy water of the revered `Mother Ganga'- is divine,
heavenly, sacred, and worshipped (Golas, 2008).
Third, the Northern and North-Eastern regions of India along the Ganga-Brahmaputra-
Meghna Basin experience critical economic water scarcity (Section 1.1). India's long-term water
security is vital for its own and global economic development (Depraz, 2014). Ganga is the
22

largest river basin of India (WRIS, 2015), inhabiting nearly 40 percent of its population
(Chaudhary, 2014), projected to rise to over one billion people (in the river basin) by 2030,
implying increasing competition for natural resources (Ahmed N. , 2015).
Fourth, climate change will only aggravate the challenges of achieving water security
making it even more costly if delayed any longer (Stern, 2006). As Hillary Clinton had stated -
"The science of climate change is unforgiving, no matter what the deniers may say... If we act
decisively now we can still head off the most catastrophic consequences..." (Clinton, 2014).
Fifth, water scarcity may also be a contributing factor to trigger wars, threatening
international peace and security (Tignino, 2010). The former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari
Vajpayee had warned that- "the third world war will be fought for water" (The Hindu, 2004). In
May,2015 the US President Barack Obama pronounced that "climate-driven drought had
aggravated conflict and terror in Nigeria and Syria" (Mathiesen, 2015).
In addition to achieving water security in India for sustainable socio-economic
development; the fundamental underlying research motivation is the basic "Human right to
access water" which is not possible till economic and physical water security is achieved which
is directly dependent on a nation's clean flowing rivers.
1.4
Research Purpose and Contribution
This research is undertaken with an interest in the river Ganga's complexity, India's
diversity, and a global concern for water security with a case study focus on the GAP and NGM-
national river pollution abatement programs in India as a means to achieve (national)water
security. The purpose of the research is to examine the issues, challenges, success, failures, and
progress of the GAP and NGM to understand the social implications of the river pollution on
different sections of the society.
Importantly, this is `one of the first academic documentations on the progress of NGM-
its vision, strategy, projects proposed, sanctioned, and implemented since its announcement in
23

July,2014 one year ago; which is one of the most significant and original academic contributions
of this paper. It will serve as an academic reference and guideline for further critical analysis on
the NGM in future research.'
Subsequently, this paper offers strong, practical recommendations (Section 5.3) for
improvements in the current strategy of the NGM, after a thorough analysis (Chapter 4,5) of the
vast data collected for this comprehensive study. In continuation, the research lays a strong,
fundamental progressive baseline for further study on the multiple aspects of the NGM.
1.5
Preview of the Thesis
The Figure 1.2 presents a blueprint of the thesis. Chapter 1 provides an introductory
overview of the research study, giving a review of the conceptual framework, aims & objectives,
and context of this research, whilst Chapter 2 describes the methodology used for the research,
with a justification for the chosen field work. Chapter 3 conducts a thorough literature review of
the GAP, GRBMP reports, and NGM forming an integral part of the policy discourse analysis in
this dissertation. Chapter 4, 5 crucially examines, evaluates and analyzes the GAP (Chapter 4)
and NGM (Chapter 5) based on the analysis of literature and personal interviews of experts to
answer the research questions. Finally, Chapter 6 concludes to reflect back on the research aims
and questions, while recognizing the limitations of this study and scope for further research.
24

Figure 1.0.2: Conceptual Map of Thesis
25

Chapter 2: Methodology and Site Selection
This chapter gives a brief overview of the research methodology with a justification for
the field work conducted in India.
2.1
Research Methodology
This research is essentially qualitative adopting a mixed-method approach of policy
discourse analysis of the GAP and GRBMP reports, inferential analysis of the variations in river
water quality data over the course of the river-cleaning program, and semi-structured interviews
of the concerned stakeholders.
This approach was taken to identify and fill the knowledge gaps in documentation of the
`Clean Ganga Mission' and also reduce bias in the case study (Bhattacherjee, 2012). I followed a
reflexive approach to this research, where I continuously reflected on the research question in
light of the data collected (Alvesson & Skoldberg, 2004). Simultaneously, secondary research
involved a review of the latest news updates, blogs, project documents and website updates,
publications, and newspaper archives.
This research approach was adopted from grounded theory whereby the first research
question (Section 1.2-A) was framed and answered based on a deductive reasoning of the
literature review and existing data; while the second research question (Section 1.2-B) was based
on inductive reasoning from the semi-structured interviews conducted during the field work in
India (Bhattacherjee, 2012). An iterative process of interviews, casual observations of rituals and
practices along the banks of the river Ganga, participant observation, and collection of other data
post a thorough literature review, helped facilitate this process.
26

2.2
Justification for Field Work in India
The field work for my research on the Ganga was undertaken along the major cities
(hotspots of pollution, cultural activity) on the banks of Ganga in India. I took a human
geography approach to gather primary data on the GAP and the NGM by conducting semi-
structured interviews of a broad range of stakeholders directly/indirectly associated with the
Ganga River Basin (GRB) in order to understand how the citizens were affected, influenced and
even participated in the river cleaning projects.
This method was chosen for four reasons: 1) The aim was to understand the social
implications of the pollution of the river Ganga on different sections of the society and get a
clear, unbiased, first-hand picture of the ground reality of the GAP and NGM for the citizens, 2)
extensive research focusing on the technical-engineering issues and solutions for cleaning the
river Ganga has already been conducted, yet river pollution has increased (Depraz, 2014)
implying there is a big gap between the project design and project implementation, 3) the NGM
was officially launched only in July, 2014 (Ramachandran, 2014) and little published
documentation exists on its progress since then. So direct personal interviews with the associated
stakeholders was the most suitable approach to study the NGM, and 4) the river's metaphysical
complexity encompassing diverse social-cultural-political perspectives can only be analyzed by
actually observing and experiencing the magnificence of the holy river Ganga.
For this, I travelled across the cities of New Delhi, Haridwar, Roorkee, Kanpur, and
Varanasi, ( Figure 2.1). I chose the interviewees on two grounds, 1) a preliminary literature
review of the GAP and GRBMP reports (Chapter 3) to identify the involved parties, and 2) based
on suggestions made by my personal and government contacts in India. The interviewees
included bureaucrats, retired civil servants, academics, scientists, engineers, authors, NGO's,
local people, priests, vedic scholars, boatmen, students, researchers, and social workers. Between
June-July, 2015 a total of 47 people (Appendix 1) were personally interviewed across these 5
27

cities in India. The geographic locations of cities visited for the fieldwork are shown in the figure
2.1 below.
Figure 2.1: Map showing the major cities along the course of the Ganga
Source- (Kumar A. , 2015).
In New Delhi, I interviewed experts from the NMCG, IIPA, WWF, CPCB, Sulabh
International discussing their roles in the `Clean Ganga Mission', and governance and planning
issues of the NGM. At Roorkee, I met academic experts from IIT-Roorkee and visited the ghats
in Haridwar to meet local priests. In Kanpur, I met academic experts at IIT-Kanpur who led the
team that drafted the GRBMP reports, and student researchers working on the Ganga river
pollution abatement to understand the technical nuances and limitations of the river cleaning
projects. In Varanasi, I met academics researchers, civil servants, engineers, vedic scholars, local
priests, boatmen, NGO's, local residents and social workers to analyze the socio-cultural
28

importance and complexity of the river Ganga. In Varanasi, I took a day off and simply toured
along the ghats to personally experience the spiritual magnificence of the holy river Ganga.
2.3
Semi-Structured Interviews
For the semi-structured interviews, I had contacted the interviewees in advance via e-mail
or telephone and explained the nature of the study, including a briefing on `Free, Prior and
Informed Consent' (FPIC). In some cases where I was randomly interviewing the boatmen, and
priests along the ghats, one informant subsequently introduced me to others for follow-up
interviews. While this chain referral sampling method may produce an opinion bias; given my
intention was a representative opinion, of a diverse range of stakeholders, I was time-bound and
this limitation could be partially overcome by a thorough literature review of the GRBMP
reports.
The interviews would begin with an introductory description (by me) of myself, intent of
the research project(Appendix 7), and a FPIC request (for audio recording of the interviews)
followed by semi-structured and open-ended questions to explore various opinions, knowledge
and perceptions (Fowler, 1995). I was careful not to ask leading questions to those susceptible to
response bias (Newing & Eagle, 2011) as much as possible. As per FPIC, care was taken to omit
sensitive details (e.g. sensitive political issues along the GRB) as requested by the interviewees.
Interviews were carried out in both Hindi/English languages. Appendix 2 provides the list of
questions that provided the framework for the interviews. A glossary of the technical, native
terms used is given at the beginning.
While I did attempt to cover a wide ground, encompassing a large group mix, the time
constraints on research field-study meant not all groups could be consulted. This includes
politicians, leather tanneries, paper and pulp industries, textile mills, small-scale entrepreneurs,
religious groups, media groups, independent researchers, environmental activists, farmers, local
fishermen, etc. However, the technical reports of the GRBMP have investigated the views and
concerns of all the above parties through discussions and consultations, so based on a thorough
29

literature study, and personal interactions with few members of the team that authored these
reports (Chapter 3,4,5), this limitation has been overcome to a certain extent.
30

Chapter 3: Literature Review
"The Ganga, especially, is the river of India, beloved of her people, round which are
intertwined her memories, her hopes and fears, her songs of triumph, her victories and her
defeats. She has been a symbol of India's age-long culture and civilization, ever changing,
ever flowing, and yet ever the same Ganga."
- (Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime Minister of India, 1946).
The above quote aptly describes the essence of this chapter which offers a comprehensive
literature review of the river pollution abatement programs of the river Ganga. Below I give an
introductory review of the economic, social, and cultural significance of the river Ganga in the
Indian psyche, to then discuss the vision, objective and salient features of the river pollution
abatement programs. A thorough literature review of the GAP, GRBMP reports, and NGM forms
an integral part of the policy discourse analysis in this dissertation. This review also formed the
basis for the semi-structured personal interviews of the various stakeholders identified for this
research to critically examine and answer the research sub-questions.
3.1
The National River Ganga Basin
The river Ganga originates from the Gangotri glacier, traversing
a
stretch of 2510 km from its source (Gomukh) to its mouth (Ganga Sagar) (IIT Consortium,
2010). As the largest river basin of India (Ahmed N. , 2015), draining across eleven states of the
country (Figure 3.1), it is the epi-centre of India's agricultural and industrial civilization;
inseparably interlinked with its social and economic development.
31

Figure 3.1 : Drainage area of the Ganga river basin (across eleven states in India)
Source: River Ganga at a Glance (IIT Consortium, 2010, p. 18)
The Section 1.3, highlighted the research motivation for this paper from one perspective
of the socio-economic-cultural significance of the river Ganga as the physical and spiritual
lifeline of the millions of Indians who reside in the basin. The Ganga is India's legendary river of
development, devotion, and faith (Sanghi, Mother Gangas Rights Are Our Rights, 2013). Despite
being nationally revered, the degradation of the river basin has been profound in the last few
decades and today the Ganga is one among the world's most polluted rivers battling under the
environmental and development pressures of a modern India (Rogers, 2013).
Professor B.D. Tripathi from BHU, Varanasi identified five major causes for Ganga's
pollution- 1)flow reduction due to dams and hydroelectric power plants in Uttarakhand (Tehri
Dam in particluar), 2)domestic sewage, 3)untreated industrial effluent discharge (containing
toxic heavy metals), 4)cremation grounds on the banks of Ganga; and 5)the ever increasing
population multiplying the magnitude of pollution (Tripathi, 2015).
32

The Government of India initiated the idea of cleaning the river Ganga in 1979 (Ahmed
S. , 1990). This was followed by a comprehensive survey by the CPCB for causal problem
identification (Dave, 2015); and the formal launch of the first national river pollution abatement
program in India, the Ganga Action Plan by the then Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi on 14
January, 1986 (MPPCB, 2014).
The following sections present a chronological review of the national programs for the
Ganga river pollution abatement examining their vision, objectives, features, and institutional
structure.
3.2
Ganga Action Plan (GAP)
This section details the main features of the GAP by outlining the initial vision, program
design, institutional features, and water quality parameters of the river Ganga. The objective is to
rationally answer the first two sub-questions (Section 1.2- A1, A2.) of the first high-level
research question-"Was the Ganga Action Plan a well-drafted, poorly-implemented river
cleaning policy?" (Section 1.2- A).
Here this is achieved by a thorough literature review of books, journal articles, documents
from government institutions, blogs, papers of academic researchers, news archives, etc. The
third sub-question (Section 1.2- A3.) is later answered in Chapter 4, to then finally sum up the
answers to the first high-level research question (Section 1.2- A.).
3.2.1 Initial Vision and Program Design of GAP
As stated in Section 3.1, the GAP was the first national river pollution abatement
program in India, launched in 1986 (MPPCB, 2014) with the core objective of "river pollution
abatement and water quality improvement in a systematic and planned manner by interception,
diversion, and treatment of domestic sewage, and present toxic and industrial chemical wastes"
(CAG, 2000).
33

The program objectives were divided into core and non-core schemes (Table 3.1). The
core schemes focused on the point sources of pollution involving: 1) the interception of nalas
and diversion towards STP's to arrest domestic sewage at the end of the disposal system, and 2)
mandatory establishment of effluent treatment plants (ETP's) by heavily polluting industries
(individual or a cluster of small-scale industries) for sufficient treatment of effluents before
releasing the waste-water into the river (IIT-Consortium, 2011).
Table 3.1: Components of GAP
Source: SWOT Analysis of GAP, (IIT-Consortium, 2011, p. 9)
A major portion of the total budget (nearly 89% of the initial budget of INR 350 crore
1
)
was allocated to the treatment of urban sewage by interception and diversion (NRCD, 2009)
focusing only on the major cities and industries along the banks of Ganga. The phase-II of GAP
was launched in 1993, the implementation of which is still in progress in the five states
(Uttrakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, WB) through which the river Ganga flows (NRCD, 2009).
More than 37 cities located along the banks of the river Ganga were targeted by both GAP-I and
1
USD 52.81 million
34

GAP-II for the interception, diversion and treatment of sewage which, though commendable, was
insufficient and only targeted the point sources (MoEF, 2011).
The institutional arrangements for the effective implementation of GAP were created at
the central, state and town levels (Figure 3.2) below, the policy level and implementation
strengths and weaknesses of which are discussed in Chapter 4.
Figure 3.2 : Institutional Arrangements for GAP
Source: Personal Interview (R.R.Mishra, 2015).
The SGRCA's were set up in 2009 to monitor and coordinate the projects sanctioned by
NGRBA (Section 3.3). The remaining projects of GAP-II were implemented through existing
departmental institutions, and lack of dedicated PMG's at state level was a major weakness
overcome with the formation of NMCG (at centre), and SPMG's (in the five GRB states) in
2011 (Section 3.3) (R.R.Mishra, 2015). This institutional structure is continued in the NGM
(Section 5.1).
35

3.2.2 Water Quality of Ganga
This section examines the change in water quality of Ganga since the inception of GAP
based on the standards set for desirable water quality by the Menon Committee under GAP in
1987 (IIT-Consortium, 2011). The objective is to identify the technical parameters to assess the
successes and failures of GAP in the policy making and implementation stages.
A uniform `Class B' bathing standard (Appendix 3) was chosen as the benchmark to be
achieved throughout the stretch of the river (NRCD, 2009) which itself is criticized as an
erroneous standard given the tremendous variations in the geography, ecology and socio-
economic use of the river in its upper, middle and lower reaches (Behera, 2015). The statistical
water quality data generated by CPCB has been analyzed here to assess the impact of GAP on
the Ganga river water quality (improvement/degradation). The BOD, DO, fecal coliform
(Appendix 3) were taken as the major indicators of the river water quality where domestic
sewage was the major source of pollution. The table 3.2 shows the value of the BOD and DO of
the river Ganga at various monitoring stations along its course since the inception of GAP in
1986 till 2011.
While the DO, BOD and fecal coliform (FC) of the river meets (Table 3.2) the desired
standards in Uttarakhand (upper Ganga: Gomukh to Haridwar), the BOD shows a rising trend
through Uttar Pradesh (middle Ganga: Haridwar to Varanasi). In Bihar and West Bengal (lower
Ganga: Varanasi to Ganga Sagar), FC is a major concern due to open defecation on the banks
and direct domestic sewage discharge into the river (Behera, 2015).
36

Table 3.2: Average DO and BOD of Ganga water at monitoring stations
Source: MoEF Annual Report 2011-2012 (MoEF, 2012, p. 167)
The overall water quality status of Ganga is dismal; except in Rishikesh, Haridwar and
Garhmukhteshwar (NRCD, 2009); while high organic pollution has increased in all other
monitoring stations. This is due to three reasons : 1) Construction of huge dams for hydroelectric
power generation in the upper reaches (eg: Tehri Dam in Uttarakhand) as a result of which the
river does not receive the minimum ecological flow in the middle reaches during lean flow
resulting in insufficient dilution of even the treated sewage (Tripathi, 2015); 2) Diversion of
nearly 80% of the Ganga water in the upper reaches for domestic and agricultural use meaning
the river does not have even minimum ecological flow and what actually drains downstream is
the sewage from the cities upstream (Tare, 2015); and 3) huge widening gap between sewage
discharge and treatment capacity (Table 3.3). Due to the unabated discharge of treated sewage
37

and insufficient river flow, even after 100% sewage treatment the river water will not attain
Class B bathing standards (MoEF, 2012).
Table 3.3: Sewage Generation and Treatment Capacity created in the Ganga
Source: (CPCB, 2013)
In conclusion, based on the water quality data sets of CPCB, the river water quality of
Ganga has deteriorated despite the efforts of GAP (Dave, 2015). There are two major issues that
need to be addressed­ 1) nearly 50% of partially treated/untreated sewage is still directly dumped
into the river (Table 3.3); and 2) river flow is insufficient and lower than the minimum required
in the lean flow period due to upper and lower Ganga canal diversions (Nazareth, 2011). The
above analysis has not discussed the parameters for measuring industrial pollution as that will be
need a greater technical understanding of the industrial effluent characteristics deviating from the
scope of this paper.
Having concluded that the water quality of the river Ganga has deteriorated despite
spending nearly INR 1000 crore (USD 15.09 million) on the GAP for about 30 years
(Ramachandran, 2014), it is now important to analyze the strengths and weaknesses, and
achievements and failures of the GAP towards river pollution abatement as done in Chapter 4.
38

3.3
NGRBA and NMCG
This section discusses the purpose of formation, and the duties of the National Ganga
River Basin Authority (NGRBA) and the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). The aim
is to understand the national institutional structures currently in place for the Ganga river
conservation programs.
The Ganga was accorded the status of a `National River' in November, 2008 to
strengthen efforts to control its pollution and degradation; after a study in 2007 reported the
Ganga as the fifth most polluted river in the world (Dhar, 2008). Following this announcement, a
high-powered NGRBA was constituted immediately in 2009, by the Central Government of
India as a " planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating authority for strengthening the
collective efforts of the Central and State Government for effective abatement of pollution and
conservation of the National River Ganga" (IITC - MPD, 2015, p. i). The NGRBA is directly
chaired by the Prime Minister of India comprising of 23 members (Appendix 6).
This declaration was received with mixed responses from both the critiques and cautious
optimists. Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati, the convener of the GSA questioned the
government's accountability stating-"It is good that the Ganga has been given the status of the
national river, but is it enough to put an end to the miseries of our national river?" (Singh B. ,
2009). While this declaration successfully revived the seriousness towards Ganga rejuvenation in
the public domain, the effectiveness of the committee has been little since 2008, given the
members haven't met on a regular basis to even review the progress of the river cleaning
programs (Tripathi, 2015).
In August 2011, the NMCG (a registered society now under the Mo WR, RD GR) was set
up as `the national level implementation wing of NGRBA' supported by the "SPMG's of the
states of UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar, and WB, and a Nodal Cell in Jharkhand" (NMCG, 2015). As
the implementation wing of the NGRBA (apex authority), the aims and objectives of the NMCG
are as follows:
39

1. "To ensure effective abatement of pollution and rejuvenation of the river Ganga by
adopting a river basin approach to promote inter-sectoral co-ordination for
comprehensive planning and management", and
2. "To maintain minimum ecological flows in the river Ganga with the aim of
ensuring water quality and environmentally sustainable development". (NMCG,
2015) .
NMCG is the umbrella society for project sanctioning and management of all activities
(sanctioned before/after 2011) undertaken by the government for the GRB (five states and NCR
Delhi) conservation (R.R.Mishra, 2015). Since the launch of NGM (2014), it is the
implementation agency for Ganga and all its tributaries to centralize the decision-making
institutional structure (R.R.Mishra, 2015).
Thus, the above section described the purpose and vision of the NGRBA and NMCG. A
flowchart of the chronological set of events that led to their formation is seen in the Section 3.4
(Figure 3.3) which examines the GRBMP reports that form the basis for designing the schemes
of the NGM.
3.4
GRBMP and Namami Gange Mission
This section chronicles the vision, objectives, and main features, of the GRBMP reports
and the NGM after a thorough study of all the GRBMP reports and related documents from
government institutions, blogs, papers of academic researchers, and news archives, to then
logically analyze the issues and challenges of the NGM in Chapter 5 . The objective is to answer
the first sub-question (Section 1.2- B1) of the second high-level research question-"What are the
issues, challenges, and progress of the `Namami Gange Mission' (NGM) towards achieving the
mammoth task of Ganga rejuvenation?"(Section 1.2-B). The next two sub-questions (Section
1.2- B2, B3) are later addressed in Chapter 5, by analyzing the semi-structured interviews to
finally sum up the answers to the second high-level research question.
40

3.4.1 GRBMP
The Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP) is a set of comprehensive reports
detailing the `Ganga Rejuvenation Plan', prepared and submitted by the consortium of the seven
IIT's to the MoEF (Tare, 2015). The following flowchart explains the organizational structure
that led to the preparation of the GRBMP, and its vision.
Figure 3.3: Organizational Structure for Preparing GRBMP
Source: GRBMP-January 2015: Main Plan Document (IITC - MPD, 2015, p. xv)
The GRBMP's vision is to- "restore the wholesomeness of the National River Ganga"
which can be achieved by accomplishing its four main objectives: 1) Aviral Dhara (continuous
41

flow): the river should have a continuous and adequate minimum ecological flow throughout the
year. 2) Nirmal Dhara (unpolluted flow): the anthropogenic activities causing pollution must be
restricted. 3) Geological Entity: preservation of the Ganga river system's heritage, and 4)
Ecological Entity: to preserve the ecological balance, biodiversity, and physical environment of
the Ganga river system.
The GRBMP's fundamental policy aptly internalizes the economic value of the
environment (here GRB), considering the positives (environmental services) as `common human
capital' and the negatives (environmental degradation) as `common human liability' (IITC -
MPD, 2015). However, given the spiritual significance of the Ganga where the common man
associates an emotional attachment with the river, commodification of the sacred river may still
be unacceptable and a major challenge in communication for effective implementation and
public participation of river conservation schemes as is restated by Rajesh Mishra, a scientist at
the SMF, Varanasi in Chapter 4,5.
From Figure 3.3, it can be inferred that for the first time, in the scientific research on the
pollution of river Ganga, a systems view was taken to comprehensively study the complexity of
the River Ganga as a `Basin' (Bose, 2015). The river ecology (including land-use change
patterns, fluvial geomorphology, river bed silting) has been considered an important parameter to
assess the river health unlike in the GAP (Section 4.2) where only water quality of the river was
gauged (Sinha, 2015).
The composition of the multidisciplinary `Thematic Groups' (Figure 3.3) rightly
encompassed the nine components of the GRB developing an essential common scientific
framework to understand, analyze and explain the complex social-cultural-political-ecological
system (Ostrom, 2009) of the GRB.
The GRBMP also succeeded in multiple and multi-level stakeholder engagement either
directly/indirectly to identify the concerns and suggestions of as many associated parties
including ­ industries, religious groups, NGO's, environment groups, bureaucrats, political
42

parties, academics, scientists, local residents, researchers, small-scale entrepreneurs, individuals,
etc (IITC-Interim Report, 2013). In the semi-structured interviews I conducted in India, a similar
group mix was adopted (based on GRBMP reports) to get a pan view of multiple stakeholders
involved in the `Clean Ganga Mission' either directly/indirectly.
In addition, the recommendations and solutions suggested by the GRBMP are designed
differently for the upper, middle and lower stretches of its flow based on the distinct physical
conditions, cultural practices and changing dynamics of political economy. Most importantly, the
GRBMP has taken the GAP as its reference drawing on its successes and failures, identifying the
threats and opportunities for GRB conservation, thereby diminishing the probability of repeating
similar policy level planning errors (R.R.Mishra, 2015).
However, in conversation with Professor Rajiv Sinha, from IIT Kanpur; he admitted that
the GRBMP reports are not based on primary data gathered by the Consortium of IIT's but
mostly on secondary information procured from governmental sources such as the CPCB,
CWC, State Government's, ULB's, and other sources (Sinha, 2015). Additionally, most ideas
and concepts are based on the secondary literature sources and consequentially lack originality
which obviously is carried forward in my analysis of the GRBMP. The Main Plan Document of
the GRBMP asserts my interpretation by stating that, " the GRBMP and its reports are an attempt
to dig into the world's collective wisdom and distil relevant truths about the complex
problem of GRB Management and find solutions thereof" (IITC - MPD, 2015, p. i). Another
major limitation I analyzed was that once again like the GAP, a greater volume of the GRBMP
documents focused on the sewage treatment of Class-I and Class-II cities, with relatively little
focus on the engagement of civil societies, and public participation.
Through the course of my research fieldwork following a review of the GRBMP reports,
I intended to find how the report's recommendations and suggestions were being utilized in the
schemes for the NGM, and was further keen to inquire if the above limitations consequently
43

constrained the use of GRBMP reports as an addition to the `Ganga Knowledge Centre' rather
than an implementable strategy in itself? This will be further discussed in Chapter 5.
3.4.2 Namami Gange Mission
"Namami Gange is a national Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission" announced by the
Government of India in the Union Budget:-(2014-15), after its election in May, 2014; to be
implemented by the NMCG (central level), and the SPMG's (state level) (NMCG, 2015).
The NGM will consolidate the existing programs (GAP, YAP, etc) for Ganga Basin
Rejuvenation, and undertake concrete actions in the short-term, medium-term, and long-term to
restore the wholesomeness of the river Ganga (R.R.Mishra, 2015). The long-term vision of the
NGM is being drafted based on the recommendations and suggestions of the GRBMP prepared
by the IIT-Consortium (Section 3.4.1). Hence, as discussed in the previous section, an
understanding of the vision, objectives and features of the GRBMP is crucial to examine the
issues, challenges, and progress of the NGM.
At this stage, it is essential to recognize that the NGM has also been perceived as a mass
national-political movement in India (particularly in UP); when promises to clean the river
Ganga Figured in the current Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi's election campaign
speeches in 2014 from the ghats of Varanasi (Ray, 2015). Soon after coming to power the
Central Government of India created a separate `Ministry for Water Resources, River
Development and Ganga Rejuvenation' which announced the "Namami Gange Project" as part
of the `Clean Ganga Mission' (Ramachandran, 2014).
Initially, a sum of INR 2037 crore (USD 307.38 million) was allocated for the NGM in
the Union Budget:-(2014-15). Later, on finalizing the program design, the Government of India
decided to extend the full-funding
2
of the NGM following the inter-ministerial consultations
through the Empowered Finance Committee, GOI (R.R.Mishra, 2015). Finally, in May 2015, the
2
Full-funding by the centre to avoid any delays due to lack of state funding (Section 4.2.2)
44

program for NGM with a budget outlay of INR 20,000 crore (USD 3018 million) has been
approved by the Government of India for a period of five years (R.R.Mishra, 2015). The
government's active involvement did convey a political, and civic commitment to the cause of
`Ganga Rejuvenation' inviting national and international interest from NGO's, private firms,
researchers, consultants, etc, (DTE, 2015).
The vision for NGM follows in sync with the objectives of the GRBMP to "restore the
wholesomeness of the national river Ganga" by achieving the: aviral and nirmal dhara, and,
geological and ecological entity. Given the project has only been launched in July, 2014; and is
still in the planning stages; there is little documented data available on the proposed schemes.
Hence, semi-structured interviews of the multiple stakeholders involved in the NGM were
undertaken to gather data for examining the issues, challenges, and progress of the NGM which
will be discussed in Chapter 5 to answer the second high-level research question (Section 1.2-B).
3.5
Conclusion
In conclusion, the above chapter has conducted a detailed review of the economic, social
and cultural significance of the river Ganga in the Indian psyche, to gain a clear understanding of
the vision, objective and salient features of the Ganga river pollution abatement programs. A part
of the two high level research questions (Section 1.2- A1,A2,and B1) have been answered by a
critical analysis of the literature on GAP, GRBMP, and NGM. In the following chapters an
analysis of the GAP, and the issues, challenges, and progress of the NGM is carried out based on
the data gathered from the semi-structured personal interviews while referring back to the above
literature
review.
45

Chapter 4: Critical Examination of Ganga Action Plan
"The Ganga to me is the symbol of India's memorable past which has been flowing
into the present and continues to flow towards the ocean of the future."
- (Jawaharlal Nehru, First Prime Minister of India, 1946)
This chapter aims to answer the first high level research question ­ "Was the Ganga
Action Plan (GAP) a well drafted, poorly-implemented river cleaning policy?" (Section 1.2-A).
At the very beginning, it is also essential to add that this research was conducted on grounded
theory without any presumptions about the GAP. The research question may lead the reader to
presume right at the onset that the GAP was a failure, however as the author that is not the
objective or implication.
The literature review of the initial vision, program design, institutional arrangements of
the GAP to understand the nuances and complexities involved in the implementation and
monitoring of GAP have been outlined in Chapter 3 (Section 3.2). Based on that backdrop, this
chapter identifies and analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and achievements of GAP
towards the Ganga river pollution abatement with excerpts from personal interviews of experts
involved in the GAP at different stages.
The aim is to answer the third sub-question "What were the strengths/achievements, and
failures/weaknesses of the GAP?" (Section 1.2- A3.), to finally sum up the answers to the first
high-level research question by continual reference to the literature review of GAP (Chapter 3).
4.1
Strengths and Achievements of GAP
This section looks at the key strengths and achievements of the GAP as have been
summarized by documents from government institutions, academic researchers, news archives,
46

experts interviewed for this research and my own critical judgement reflecting upon the literature
study and field work. The sub-section 4.1.1 aims to explain and examine the strengths of the
GAP at the policy making and implementation level to answer the first half of the first research
question (Section 1.2-A) on whether the GAP was a "well-drafted policy...?" while the sub-
section 4.1.2 highlights the major achievements of the GAP to counter the possible presumption
of the second half of the same question i.e the GAP was a "...poorly implemented policy".
4.1.1 Strengths of GAP
First, the strategy of sewage interception (of nalas) and diversion (towards STP's)
(Section 3.2.1) through a conveyance system with pumping stations was extremely relevant in
the scheme design as the task of sewage treatment was not delayed till complete establishment of
sewage network in the identified towns and cities on the banks of the river Ganga (Biswas,
2002). The urgency of the task of pollution abatement in the present and future was well
strategized in the vision by addressing the origins/point-sources of pollution.
Second, considerable efforts ­ institutional, technical, physical, and monetary went into
the establishment of STP's in more than 37 cities along the banks of the river for treatment of
urban sewage (S.Dhapola, 2015). At the same time industries along the banks of Ganga
discharging effluents directly into the river were mandated to establish both in-house and
common ETPs (S.Dhapola, 2015). So the GAP did focus on its core scheme (Table 3.1) creating
about 1670 MLD of STP capacity (Appendix 4) in the five states through which the river flows.
Third, as summarized in Section 3.2.1, the program created a broad institutional structure
at the central, state, town/local levels assigning responsibilities of monitoring and evaluation to
different agencies at different levels (Figure 3.2), indicating a long-term commitment of the
government to implement and monitor the program. Although a major critique of the program
design is that it was established at the central level (linear, top-down technocratic approach), the
institutional structure rightly recognized the need to involve para-statal and autonomous agencies
(integrated, bottom-up managerial approach) in the monitoring and implementation stages (Das
47

Tamminga, 2012) inculcating a peer-review principle of evaluation within the government
institutions. Third-party monitoring by academic institutions like IIT-Kanpur and Patna
University though introduced much later during GAP-II (1993) (Tare, 2015) helped create a
stronger water-quality database for future research use and displayed the central government's
willingness for open, transparent functioning.
4.1.2 Achievements of GAP
First, GAP brought about an early awareness among the citizens and government
agencies on environmental issues concerning river pollution. For the first time, it was announced
in the early 1980's that "Our holy river Mother Ganga is polluted! She is sick and needs
immediate care" (Tripathi, 2015) , a remark that was met with fierce agitation from all sections
of society particularly religious Hindus who believed that this sacred river could never soil
(Mishra, 2015). As a result of this, active research was conducted by government organizations
(CPCB), academic institutions (like BHU, IIT Kanpur), NGO's (like SMF, Sulabh International,
WWF, Ganga Action Parivar); and independent researchers creating a vast knowledge base on
multiple aspects of the river Ganga (Mishra, 2015). Simultaneously, the government agencies
like CPCB, SPCB's became far more functionally involved on the pollution issues of river
Ganga (Dave, 2015).
Second, based on statistical evidence (Table 3.2), the `Status Paper on Ganga' argues that
the water quality of river Ganga measured against the prescribed standard (Appendix 3)
parameters of DO and BOD values has actually improved except for the coliform levels (AHEC-
IIT Roorkee, 2009). While this argument is debated, on grounds of the methods of measurement
and frequency of monitoring (Sinha, 2015), the report on the status of GAP stated that - "in 22
years of monitoring at 16 stations, the value of DO below 5.0 mg/l was recorded only in 2.6%
cases (observed between Kannauj and Kanpur). A comparison of results with pre- GAP period
shows that there is a marginal increase in DO values indicating improvement in water quality"
(NRCD, 2009, p. 16). The report f u r t h e r a dds t h at ­ "o nl y in 27% of total samples, BOD
48

values were more than the prescribed norm of 3 mg/l, all of which were mainly taken during lean
flows from the middle stretch starting from Kannauj t o Allahabad." (NRCD, 2009, p. 16)
Third, though the core schemes focused on establishment of STP's, ETP's, the non- core
schemes (Table 3.1) did acknowledge other issues such as developing low-cost sanitation
facilities at community and individual levels, water-quality monitoring, installation of electric
and wood-based crematoria along the ghats for religious cremation of dead bodies, and
afforestation (Upadhyay, 2015).
Fourth, GAP paved the mechanism for future river pollution abatement programs in a
vast, diverse country like India where the challenges of environmental degradation extend far
beyond the scientific, techno-engineering, and biological-ecological considerations to social-
political-cultural-economic issues.
The biggest achievement of GAP however, is in its strong commitment to river pollution
abatement as stated below by Pushkal Upadhyay, the Additional Mission Director of the NMCG
and I quote him verbatim- "The GAP was definitely focused on STP's, but let's be fair that the
non-core schemes were wide and far-reaching, though; agreed insufficient. The GAP was
launched in the 1980's when the country was facing other social and economic development
issues; it was still battling hunger (probably is even today). I believe India was the only country
(then), at its level of GDP that even attempted river conservation in such a big way and
consistently for so long! Take a look at every other country that attempted river conservation and
at what level of GDP did they do that. The first river cleaning program of the Thames river
started post 1957, Rhine in 1976 (with efficient monitoring only after 1986), and the Murray
Darling as late as 1993. The fact that the Indian Government committed and acted upon the plan
for Ganga Conservation 30 years ago is extremely commendable" (Upadhyay, 2015).
Thus, having analyzed, the strengths and achievements of the GAP, an understanding of
one side of each half of the first research question is attained. The next section investigates the
weaknesses and failures to analyze the other side of the same coin.
49

4.2 Weaknesses and Failures of GAP
This section explores the weaknesses and failures of the GAP as have been summarized
by documents from government institutions, academic researchers, news archives, experts
interviewed for this research and my own critical judgement reflecting upon the literature study
and field work. The sub-section 4.2.1 aims to explain and examine the weaknesses of the GAP at
the policy making and implementation level to take a counter intuitive approach at the first half
of the first research question (Section 1.2-A) on whether the GAP was a "well-drafted
policy...?" while the sub-section 4.2.2 studies the major failures of the GAP to answer the
second half of the same question i.e the GAP was a "...poorly implemented policy".
4.2.1 Weaknesses of GAP
First, the vision itself was limited in scope with respect to the issues addressed under the
core schemes. The policy design of GAP gave inordinate attention to sewage collection,
conveyance and treatment allocating nearly 89% of the GAP budget (Section 3.2.1) with very
little funding for the non-core schemes. As Professor Rajiv Sinha from IIT Kanpur, stated- "The
core schemes of GAP, were over-reliant on conventional methods of just sewage and industrial
effluent treatment; envisioned, conceived and implemented by the central government with little
involvement of states and local stakeholders" (Sinha, 2015). In a separate interview, Rajiv
Ranjan Mishra, the former Mission Director of NMCG continued on the same subject that ­
"they (core schemes of GAP) were inadequate in the policy making stage itself, limited in their
understanding of the diverse social-cultural-political complexity, superimposing a technocratic
approach to pollution control on a vast, multi-faceted community which has its own cultural and
religious understandings of pollution" (R.R.Mishra, 2015).
Second, the GAP did not take the essential `river basin management- system's approach'
(Ostrom, 2009)), to river pollution abatement focusing only on the sewage and effluent discharge
in the major cities and towns (Class-I and Class-II) along the course of the river (Sinha, 2015).
50

Though some focus was laid on the non-core schemes (Table 3.1), GAP failed to acknowledge
that different stretches of the river (upper, middle, and lower segment) have different natural,
economic, and human intervention issues
3
(Behera, 2015). For eg: Due to the diversion of Ganga
water to meet the irrigation needs for agricultural activities in the upper segment, and industrial
and domestic water requirements of New Delhi, the middle segment has very little flow,
reducing its capacity for pollution absorption by dilution (Tare, 2015).
Third, non-point sources of pollution like pesticide run-off from agricultural fields, and
small-scale economic activities (eg: cattle washing, dhobi ghats) on the banks of the river were
not adequately addressed in the very design of GAP (S.Dhapola, 2015).
Fourth, Professor B.D Tripathi, from BHU Varanasi, who pioneered the Ganga pollution
research in 1972, he stated that "the very basic idea of setting the standards of desired river
water quality to Class-B bathing standards (Appendix 3) was faulty and inspired from the west
where river-water is rarely used directly, while in India pilgrims undertake religious practices
by taking holy dips and even drink the river water directly. The desirable river water quality
standards should be set to Class-A (Appendix 5) drinking class".
Fifth, the core schemes of Ganga relied on pollution abatement by complete interception
and diversion of sewage for treatment in STP's, each stage of which needed electricity to run.
However, as stated by Rajesh Mishra, a scientist at the SMF,- "the cities and towns through
which the river flows only received an intermittent supply of electricity for a meager few hours a
day (even today) and hence, most of the times the sewage was discharged into the river;
untreated!" (R.K.Mishra, 2015). He further added that "they(SMF) had proposed an alternative
`gravity system for sewage transportation and collection to be treated by Advanced Integrated
Waste Water Pond System' in 1997 which was only approved by the central government for
3 Upper segment has problems of ecological restoration and biodiversity loss, the middle segment does not have minimum
ecological flow in the lean-flow period with high industrial pollution discharge; while the lower segment has high coliform
levels due to domestic sewage.
51

small-scale implementation in Varanasi in 2008, citing a major drawback that it was very land-
intensive for large scale implementation".
Sixth, the scheme design lacked a clear financial model for operation and maintenance of
the assets. The assets created in GAP for sewage treatment are eroded with little life remaining
today because of lack of funds for operation, maintenance, and repair which could have been
generated if public and private stakeholders had been engaged in an active business partnership
(IIT-Consortium, 2011). As Rajesh Mishra from SMF, further added that during GAP-I nearly
INR 50 crores (USD 7.55 million) were spent in Varanasi alone for creating STP's but little
attention was paid to its operation and maintenance (R.K.Mishra, 2015).
The biggest weakness in the design of GAP however, was a lack of robust institutional
arrangement and regulatory framework to monitor and run its implementation. As illustrated in
Figure 3.2, though GAP succeeded in developing an institutional framework to oversee its
implementation, they were not effective. For one, there was a lack of clarity on the decisive roles
of the multiple stakeholders involved in the implementation of GAP at the central, state and town
level (Tare, 2015); and second, the financial responsibility of operation and maintenance was
forced upon the ULB's through judicial interventions which then later addressed the issue with
little seriousness (R.R.Mishra, 2015).
4.2.2 Failures of Implementation of GAP
First, the GAP wasn't technology-neutral (R.R.Mishra, 2015) in the selection of sewage
treatment technologies which is a very strong criticism responsible for its failure in practice. The
GAP adopted the UASB technology, introduced with the financial support of the Dutch
Development Aid, a major financial source for GAP-I and blamed as the influencing force for
the adoption (IIT-Consortium, 2011). The Menon committee argued that appropriate
comparative assessment with suitable sewage treatment technologies wasn't carried out and there
was a clear influence of financial aid on the choice of technology (U. Menon, 1988).
52

Second, the operation and maintenance of the STP's (GAP assets) were assigned to the
ULB's after judicial intervention but the ULB's did not have sufficient resources for this (IIT-
Consortium, 2011). While this was essentially a failure in the very policy design of GAP, the
lack of interest from municipal councils and limited state financial aid resulted in creation of
eroded assets, a major failure of implementation of GAP.
Third, the inordinate delays in project implementation due to delays in :- sanctioning
funds by the central government, submission of detailed project reports by state governments,
land acquisition for construction of STP's and pumping infrastructure, cost over-runs, and re-
sanctioning of schemes combined with frequent public opposition and court interventions were
seen as a major failure of GAP (IIT-Consortium, 2011).
Fourth, to counter-balance the irregular supply of electricity to the pumping stations
(R.K.Mishra, 2015), the state government of UP did provide diesel-engine sets to ensure
continuous operation of pumping stations, but this too was unsuccessful due to irregular supply
of diesel by the concerned state authorities (R.K.Mishra, 2015).
Fifth, the implementation phase of GAP only focused on the installation of STP's and left
the task of industrial effluent control to the polluting industries without placing a strong, legal
mechanism to monitor the establishment and functioning of STP's and ETP's (Sinha, 2015). As
stated in the report by the IIT Consortium, - "by the end of GAP-I in 1993, only about 45 per
cent of the grossly polluting industrial units had installed ETPs. Over 18 per cent of those did
not function properly, and did not meet the technical standards" (IIT-Consortium, 2011).
Lastly, though not a direct failure of implementation of GAP, the water quality
monitoring data collected during GAP wasn't placed in a cohesive manner or sufficiently
analyzed to create a strong database to draw lessons for future use (Tare, 2015); thereby also
raising doubts about the actual government spending on monitoring schemes and probability of
wastage of funds or even corruption.
53

Thus, the above section analyzes, the weaknesses (in design), and failures (in
implementation) of the GAP, to complete the understanding of countering sides of each half of
the first research question. The next section partly draws conclusions to the first research
question.
4.3 Conclusions
The above chapter critically analyzed the strengths, weaknesses, achievements, and
failures of GAP towards the Ganga river pollution abatement. This section sums up the
observations to each of the three sub-questions (Section 1.2- A1, A2, A3) to answer the first
high-level research question (Section 1.2- A).
Based on the above detailed critical examination of the GAP, the efforts to clean the
Ganga under the GAP have clearly fallen far-short of their stated goals and lacked tangible
results. A report published by the Members (Water Resources), Planning Commission of India
for the Supreme Court of India stated that -"Though a considerable sum of money has been spent
on the programme and the impact of GAP and NRCP has been positive, it has been less than
desired" (Planning Commission of India, 2009). The weaknesses and failures of the GAP
particularly in operation and maintenance of assets and monitoring aspects greatly defeated its
very purpose. This has on the other hand served as a learning basis for the preparation of the
GRBMP (Section 3.4.1) and schemes for the NGM (Section 5.1).
While in principle, GAP acknowledged that the pollution control of Ganga needs to be
addressed in a culturally sensitive context, the technocratic core schemes failed to do so both in
design and practice (Tripathi, 2015); failing to create inclusive spaces for public participation
and stakeholder collaboration thus, pointing out a much bigger and broader problem of
management and governance (Sharma V. , 2015).
The issues pertaining to release of funds, delays in program implementation, improper
operation and maintenance leading to eroded assets, and multiplicity of monitoring institutions
54

resulting in confusion and conflicts over authority, draw attention to the acute gaps in policy
making, program design, and implementation placing the urgent need for a deeper institutional
analysis. However, the very weaknesses and failures of GAP, must be viewed as opportunities
for the NGM.
As I reflect upon the personal interviews I conducted in India for my research, here are a
few excerpts and comments that draw me towards a part of my conclusion. My views about the
influence and efficacy of the GAP were ascertained by Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, who I quote stating
­ "It is easy to criticize the GAP and yes there are many weaknesses to it both in design and in
implementation. But what if the GAP hadn't existed? What then would have been the state of
river Ganga today? For all I can say, it would have been much worse!" He further added that-
"it is essential to rationally recognize the issues, challenges and complexity of cleaning a
magnificent river basin like the Ganga and more importantly the socio-economic priorities of the
nation itself when the plan was drafted. There was no reference of a similar river cleaning plan
and given the complexity of the Ganga, there probably still isn't" (R.R.Mishra, 2015). His views
about the GAP were well asserted by Pushkal Upadhyay who stated -"The efforts to clean the
river Ganga under GAP may have been too little, but nevertheless weren't too late" (Upadhyay,
2015).
Therefore if I substantially overlook the issues and challenges surrounding the Ganga
river conservation for now (discussed in Chapter 5), basing my results purely on the targets of
the GAP then, "the GAP was a well-intended, objectively-directed, insufficiently-drafted, and
poorly-implemented river cleaning policy".
However, having understood the magnitude of the complexity of the GRB, there must not
be an either-or decisive conclusion at this stage. The GAP was a commendable attempt
successfully achieving the goal of reducing the rate of pollution in the Ganga, and paving the
way for the design of a robust framework for the `Namami Gange Mission'. As discussed in the
55

next chapter, the NGM needs to be anchored to bridge the gap between science and the sacred by
considering "people's relationship with the river central to its restoration efforts".
56

Chapter 5 : Namami Gange Mission
"The movement to save the Ganga and its `nirmal and aviral dhara is not just a
movement to save a river, it is a movement to save India's troubled soul."
- (Dr. Vandana Shivaji, 2010)
In light of the above quote, this chapter addresses the second high-level research
question- "What are the issues, challenges, and progress of the `Namami Gange
Mission' (NGM) towards achieving the mammoth task of Ganga rejuvenation?" (Section
1.2-B). The evaluation is based on a modest but no less significant analysis of the semi-
structured personal interviews of the multiple stakeholders involved in the NGM
(Appendix 1).
The first part of the chapter explores the progress of NGM in light of the projects
proposed, sanctioned or implemented while the second part investigates the issues and
challenges of the NGM in the present and future. Finally, based on the analysis of the
personal interviews, while drawing on the literature review of the GRBMP reports
(Chapter 3), I make some recommendations on the design and implementation of the
NGM and further conclude to justify the answers to the second research question.
5.1
Progress of NGM
The Chapter 3 (Section 3.4) gave an overarching account of the vision,
objectives, key features, and some limitations of the GRBMP which formed the basis for
the design of the NGM, to be implemented by the NMCG (at centre) and the SPMG's (at
state) (R.R.Mishra, 2015). The purpose of this section is to `first document the progress
of NGM- its vision, strategy, projects proposed, sanctioned, and implemented, since its
57

announcement in July,2014 one year ago; which is one of the most significant and
original academic contributions of this paper for further critical analysis'.
The first stage in designing the scheme for the NGM was to identify the problems
to be addressed based on the analysis of the GRBMP reports (Upadhyay, 2015). Thus, in
Figure 5.1 below, I have encapsulated the issues and their solutions identified in the
scheme design, as highlighted by Pushkal Upadhyay and Rajiv Ranjan Mishra.
Figure 5.1: Problems being addressed in NGM
Source: Personal Interviews of officials at NMCG (Appendix 1)
In continuation, the Figure 5.2 below demonstrates the current strategic design of
the NGM analyzed from the personal interviews of the officials at NMCG. On the
strategy for the NGM, Pushkal Upadhyay expressed that- "the approach has been to
address the cause of pollution rather than its effect prioritizing the causal links of the
major pollution sources i.e domestic sewage and industrial effluent discharge. To
58

achieve tangible results, implementation will involve states and grassroots institutions
like ULB's, PRI's" (Upadhyay, 2015). The set of core activities listed (Figure 5.2)
define the priority of the scheme being implemented by the NMCG directly, which like
the GAP are again focused on sewage treatment and industrial pollution reduction
(Section 3.2.1).
Figure 5.2: Strategy for NGM
Source: Personal Interviews of officials at NMCG (Appendix 1)
Eleven priority towns have been identified first to complete the sewerage
infrastructure as shown in the Figure 5.3 below, to which Rajiv Ranjan Mishra explained
59

­"the priority towns all along the stretch of Ganga (upper, middle and lower) have been
identified to arrest pollution discharge at major sources and achieve quick, visible
results of water quality improvement all along the river stretch. At the same time detailed
project reports for the sewerage infrastructure in the remaining 108 identified towns are
being prepared by the respective states. The projects are taken up in stages under short-
term (1-3 years), medium-term (3-5 years), and long-term targets(up-to 10 years). The
targets for the non-core activities are likely to be achieved in short/medium term while
the core activities in medium/long term" (R.R.Mishra, 2015).
Figure 5.3: Sewage infrastructure in eleven priority towns
Source: (Sharma B. , 2015), Personal Interviews of officials at NMCG (Appendix 1)
60

A major flaw, I notice in this design (Figure 5.3) is that the proposed sewerage
infrastructure design is planned for a projected sewage generation until 2030 which is a
very short period to forecast for; given the NGM is a long-term river pollution abatement
program. Elaborating on the scheme, Pushkal Upadhyay added that ­"Industrial
Pollution is another key issue for which we have adopted- 1) a PPP model for developing
Common Waste-Water Treatment Plants in Kashipur, Kanpur, and Mathura-Vrindavan;
2) online industrial effluent monitoring and zero liquid discharge in 764 grossly
polluting industries; and 3) setting up 113 real-time water quality monitoring stations(on
the main stem of river). In addition, drawing on the failure of the GAP to take a systems
view on Ganga rejuvenation, activities such as river-surface cleaning (aeration,
arresting floating matter), establishment of improved wood-based crematoria on the
ghats, biodiversity conservation (population survey of the Gangetic Dolphin, revival
activities for Ghariyal, and Turtle Breeding programmes, assessment of fisheries),
afforestation activities (routed through FRI and NYKS for multi-stakeholder
engagement), low-cost sanitation, Eco-Task Force (for raising four battalions through
MoD for Ganga pollution abatement monitoring) ; and scientific research are being
taken up rigorously."
61

Figure 5.4: Inter-ministerial co-ordination for pollution abatement
Source: (Sharma B. , 2015), Personal Interviews of officials at NMCG (Appendix 1)
The projects proposed or sanctioned under NGM have adopted a technology
neutral DBFO model for 10 years (maybe 15 years) taking the least life-cycle cost as the
basis for sanctioning the STP projects (S.Dhapola, 2015). The vision is that by 2020 all
untreated waste-water entering the Ganga should be stopped (Ahsan, 2015).
One noteworthy aspect in the design is the integration of the institutional structure
for implementation of the scheme (Figure 5.4); the NGM recognizes that the problems of
pollution of the Ganga are interlinked with urban development, environment, public
health and sanitation; and water resources; where inter-ministerial co-ordination is
essential. However, in the scheme design, of the sewerage infrastructure, the construction
of STP's is implemented by the MoWR,RDGR while the laying sewerage
infrastructure is under the domain of MoUD. Any mismatch in their synchronization
62

would result in a delay/failure of the scheme and a framework for complete coordination
must be incorporated in the design.
On interviewing the local people in Varanasi at the ghats, and the social workers
of SMF about the progress of NGM, the collective answers as stated by Rajesh Mishra
were- "The only progress of NGM in Varanasi is some River Front Development by
cleaning the ghats, and constructing steps there. Another recent development is the
acquisition of land on the outskirts to establish ASP plant. We are clueless about any
further projects or the government's plans for NGM, and fear that lack of public
engagement even after one year of launch may imply a repetition of GAP's failures"
(R.K.Mishra, 2015).
Thus, the above section briefly summarizes the progress made in the NGM since
its announcement in July,2014. There is little progress in implementation except for river
front development, but given the magnitude and complexity of this task, one year is also
a very short period to assess the progress. Through my study at the NMCG, I deduced
that the vision and strategy are clearly defined and have incorporated the strengths and
weaknesses of GAP into the design. The issues and challenges of the NGM are discussed
in the next section to critically evaluate the second research question.
5.2
Issues and Challenges of NGM:
In Chapter 4 a detailed study of the GAP was presented which critically identified
the gaps and lacunas in the program concluding that there was a dire need to identify the
issues and challenges of `cleaning the sacred river Ganga' under the NGM. The purpose
of this section is to analyze of the issues and challenges highlighted through the course of
my research fieldwork to make recommendations (Section 5.3) for improvements in the
policy design and implementation of NGM to bridge the gap between the science and
sacred.
63

At the outset, I quote Pushkal Upadhyay's statement at the beginning of my
interview with him- "The first and biggest challenge of course has been to come up with
a feasible plan for a mighty river basin like the Ganga!" (Upadhyay, 2015).
5.2.1
Political
Through the research, two major political challenges of the NGM were identified.
1) In the Indian democratic (government) system, political parties in government
have a short-shelf life of five years; hence, apprehensions about completion of long-term
projects like the NGM with vast capital investment are well-justified (Sharma V. , 2015).
Judging by the fate of previous national programs like JNNURM launched by the UPA
Government in 2005
4
which was terminated by the NDA government elected in 2014
(Samudranil, 2014); there is genuine political disbelief in the public about the potential of
NGM to achieve its targets to which Rajesh Mishra from SMF added- "As long as the
government is strongly committed to the cause, Ganga can be cleaned." (R.K.Mishra,
2015)
2) Water in India is a `state property' (Chaturvedi, 2011), while the NGM is
under the central government, to be supported by the GRB states. In a federal governance
system, decision-making and implementation issues will persist due to the political
hassles between the hostile parties at the centre and state, inter-state water sharing
disputes, and differing state priorities for socio-economic development (Sharma V. ,
2015). However, if the Parliament regards it expedient that a river be brought under the
Union for public good, a law (Section 5.4) can be enacted to that effect (Iyer R. , 2011).
4
JNNURM incurred a total expenditure of INR 66,000 crore (USD 9959.26 million), with nearly 48% of work
remaining even in 2014 (targeted to be completed from 2005-2012).
64

5.2.2
Development vs Environment
The next is the crucial `Development vs Environment debate' where though
sustainable development is arguably the best way forward, a study by Michael Redclift in
2005 on sustainable development, argued that sustainable development will never lead to
economic growth (Redclift, 2005). The Figure 5.1 illustrates the hotspots of pollution
along the flow of Ganga highlighting the major environmental issues due to urbanization
and industrial development.
Professor B.D.Tripathi mentioned that- "The river Ganga forms three major
distinct ecosystems- 1) Fragile Himalayan ecosystem (upper Ganga-Gomukh to
Haridwar), 2) Plain agro-urban ecosystem (middle Ganga-Haridwar to Patna), and 3)
Delta Ecosystem (Lower Ganga- Patna to Sunderban); with each segment having its own
exclusive characteristics and specific environmental problems culminating from the
stress between ecology and development" (Tripathi, 2015).
65
Figure 5.5: Hotspots of development vs pollution issues along the Ganga.
Source: (Narain, Sengupta, Basu, 2014)

As the Ganga flows from the upper to the middle stretch, most of the water is
withdrawn for drinking and irrigation purposes leading to ecological-flow issues (Tare,
2015). The hydroelectric power projects in Uttarakhand, leather tanneries in Kanpur,
paper and pulp industries, textile mills in the middle Ganga stretch, river-bed sand
mining in UP, and domestic sewage discharge are major sources of pollution, but integral
to India's economic growth (N.Kinjavadekar, 2015). The current strategy for the NGM
does not offer any solutions to address the issue of increasing the flow of the river.
The most important concern is the livelihood sustenance of the small-scale
entrepreneurs like boatmen, street hawkers, washer-men, farmers, etc along the banks of
the river who depend on the river water for their very existence. In conversation with a
boatman on the banks of Ganga in Varanasi, he stated- "We have been in this business
for generations and never caused any pollution. The Tehri dam in Uttarakhand is the
main reason for pollution as the Ganga water doesn't receive enough flow downstream.
Releasing the waters from the dam will automatically solve the pollution issues of the
Ganga" (Kedarnath, 2015). However, a solution to restoring the Ganga is not as simple
as releasing the water from the Tehri Dam, given the high level political-economic
issues; one of the major challenges for the NGM.
5.2.3
Religious and Cultural Sentiment
The religious belief and sentiment attached with the Ganga is a double-edged
sword; it is both a cause of pollution, and the motivation for conservation.
A senior resident of Varanasi strongly expressed that­ "Mother Ganga has
arrived on the Earth to cleanse it, and is executing her task, how can she soil?"
(Dvivedi, 2015). In an interview with Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Ray on the religious belief
associated with Ganga (in Varanasi), he stated- "No matter where a Hindu resides, the
66

holy waters of Ganga are an integral part of their life right from birth till death and even
after...It is believed that- on the banks of Maa Ganga, death in Kashi is liberation!"
(Ray, 2015). Reiterating his notion, retired Professor Hridayranjan Sharma, a renowned
Vedic Scholar added- "A sacred believer will only worship Maa Ganga, not pollute"
(Sharma H. , 2015).
Reflecting on these interviews, I opined that maybe somewhere the complication
was also embedded in the faith and cultural reverence of the Ganga. In India, the holy
river Ganga is regarded as `Mother'-who has no boundaries to her love and acceptance
(belief that the Ganga can never soil). If the river Ganga is also considered a resource
then maybe the public attitude towards waste discharge directly in the river will change;
"the love of Ganga the goddess needs to be transitioned into equal love for Ganga the
physical" (Norton, 2015).
Professor B.D.Tripathi added a scientific perspective to this belief stating- "the
dead bodies were/are immersed into the Ganga(in Varanasi) with the strong belief that
moksha (salvation) is attained. But they also serve as food for the flesh-eating turtles in
the lower-Ganga segment (downstream Varanasi). Due to ecological disturbance of the
river-basin, urban and industrial expansion on the banks, and population growth, this
capacity has reduced and the dead bodies are now a major cause for pollution"
(Tripathi, 2015).
5.2.4
Public Engagement and Communication
Public participation, through multiple; multi-level stakeholder engagement
involving the NGO's, civil society organizations, funding agencies (eg: World Bank),
industries, bureaucrats, media, religious leaders, political leaders, citizens, etc is crucial
for the successful planning and implementation of the NGM.
Rajesh Mishra, from SMF asserted this view stating- "when the awareness
campaign for Ganga river pollution abatement started in 1982, the biggest challenge
67

was to infuse the very basic idea that `the Ganga is polluted'! The terminology had to be
refined that `Mother Ganga' was sick and needed the service and care of her children."
(R.K.Mishra, 2015)
On being asked about the challenges of effective communication, Mohd. Najeeb
Ahsan, the Senior Social Management Specialist at NMCG replied- "Half the battle is
already won since everyone agrees on the common goal to `restore the wholesomeness of
Ganga'. Effective communication should be strategized at the local level identifying the
essence and core significance of the river there (eg: in Haridwar the river holds cultural
significance for religious bathing, while in Kanpur for industrial use). To do so, we are
coordinating with the SPMG's to submit their communication strategy through
stakeholder discussion" (Ahsan, 2015).
One major issue identified on stakeholder engagement in project implementation
during an interaction with Dr. Bindeshwari Pathak, a social-reformer and international
expert on low-cost sanitation was; the involvement of NGO's like Sulabh International.
He stated that-"We are confident of our innovative low-cost sanitation technology and
don't participate in tenders. If the government assigns us projects like they did for
cleaning the Assi Ghat on the banks of Ganga in Varanasi, we undertake them." (Pathak,
2015). A solution to this is to set up empaneled agencies at the state level to take local
quotations by identifying such NGO's and institutions to then decide which agency
should be assigned the project (R.R.Mishra, 2015).
In conversation with Suresh Babu, the Director of WWF-India on the
organization's role in biodiversity conservation of GRB through public participation he
stated that- "WWF is the convener for the `Friends of River' (mitra) that cuts across all
the forums of our Ganga programme by engaging the local administrators, Gram
Panchayat, fishermen, farmers to bring about a behavioral change. We have to be
68

patient as there are only some early adopters, we see progress (on NGM) let's hope it is
steady" (Babu, 2015).
Finally, cross-sectoral collaboration is essential in effective communication and
in the case of Ganga, faith leaders from NGO's like Ganga Action Parivar must be
engaged to appropriately shape the perspective of the story of river pollution impacts and
abatement benefits (Munshi, 2015).
Thus, the above section has analyzed some of the major issues and challenges of
the NGM following which the next section makes suggestions and recommendations for
improvements in the policy design and implementation of NGM to bridge the gap
between the science and sacred.
5.3
Recommendations for NGM
Based on a clear understanding of the progress of NGM, a critical analysis of its
issues and challenges, and a thorough examination of the achievements and failures of
GAP; in this section I propose some recommendations for the policy design and
implementation of the NGM.
The core activity on sewerage network (Section 5.1, Figure 5.3) only estimates
the future sewage generation capacity until 2030 which is inadequate given NGM is a
long-term integrated river conservation mission. I recommend the scheme should lay the
sewerage infrastructure estimating the sewage generation for a population projection
until 2050 in the eleven priority towns (Figure 5.3). For the remaining 108 identified
towns (Section 5.1) proposed in the scheme, sewerage network should be laid for a
projected estimation until 2035, and decentralized STP's with zero liquid discharge
should be planned for additional capacity thereafter. In continuation, `Zero Liquid
69

Discharge' and `Treated Waste-Water Reuse' should be mandatory for the industries
along the river.
Water-quality monitoring at all stations (113 real-time and 98 manual)
(R.R.Mishra, 2015) must be assigned to the technical-engineering academic institutions
like IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Roorkee (the cities on the banks of Ganga) and also serve as
laboratories for academic research. They water quality data analysis should be reported to
the concerned SPMG and NMCG.
Involvement of local NGO's, and ULB's in implementing and monitoring the in-
situ sewage treatment for 144 drains identified along the stretch of river flow by the
CPCB will prove effective at town level.
River surface cleaning (by aeration, and arresting floating matter) along with river
front development (Figure 5.2) must be undertaken with immediate effect in the eleven
priority towns with the support of local NGO's (like Ganga Action Parivar, SMF, Ganga
Mahasabha) and religious, faith leaders. This should be combined with awareness
campaigns about the progress of NGM and Ganga pollution abatement to gather public
support, and instill behavior change.
In a conversation with Dr.Bindeshwari Pathak, he strongly suggested the need for
zoning the river on the banks of cremation grounds and removal of dead bodies from the
river on the downstream end of these zones (Pathak, 2015). Simultaneously, involvement
of religious leaders to appropriately shape the perspective of river pollution impacts and
abatement benefits (Munshi, 2015) to encourage the use of improved wood-based
crematoria on the ghats is vital.
The NMCG must hire (by outsourcing) a dedicated team to work on an annual
crowd-funding campaign to generate consistent support for the activities like river
surface cleaning, and establishment of crematoria; proposed to be routed through the
Clean Ganga Fund which has received INR 53.70 crore (USD 8.7 million) till now
70

(Upadhyay, 2015). Also 100% tax exemption for donations made to this fund is a
favorable strategy (DTE, 2015), but the finance team must place stringent regulations to
prevent misuse by corruption or undue tax benefits.
Capacity augmentation in the SPMG's and NMCG is urgently required to speed
up the design and implementation of the NGM. Individual teams should be constituted
for design, implementation and monitoring of a set of (similar) activities as outlined in
the strategy for the NGM (Figure 5.2), at the state level with a corresponding apex
authority at NMCG.
The Ganga Knowledge Centre should be expanded as a one-stop physical and
virtual library on the GRB, integrating the Gangapedia (by IIT-Kanpur) and Ganga Gyan
Dhara portal (Sanghi, 2015). Further research on management of non-point sources of
pollution must be undertaken, as that is not addressed adequately.
Establishment of a "Ganga Field Study Council" under NMCG in the five states
of the river network, based on the UK model of operating field study centres in
ecologically valuable zones (like forests, sanctuaries) to explore and understand the
environment, will promote sustainable practices, improve educational awareness, and for
revenue generation. This will promote eco-tourism, essential for revenue generation to
undertake biodiversity conservation and afforestation.
The Ganga river conservation model of each state along the river network must
be developed by the respective SPMG's based on the economic, social, cultural, political,
and environmental issues pertaining to the river in that state, inclusive of the river basin
complexities and challenges. This will serve as a model for future river pollution
abatement programs both within India, and similar developing nations in Asia, Africa,
and South America, because of the vast diversity and hence, segment-wise replicability
of the Ganga River Basin.
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Looking at the weaknesses and failures of the GAP, it is imperative for the central
government to have direct control over the implementation of all Ganga-related projects
(Tripathi, 2015). A legal and institutional framework in the form of ­ "The National
River Ganga Basin Management Bill" as drafted and suggested by the IIT-Consortium is
a bold attempt that suggests establishment of NRGBC and NRGBT "for effective,
expeditious disposal of matters affecting the GRB" (IIT-Consortium, 2013)must be
discussed by the NMCG and NGRBA, to be tabled in the Parliament (Tare, 2015). The
NMCG must be legally empowered to: 1) monitor environmental violations during
project implementation and operation, ensuring proactive compliance from developers
(IITC - MPD, 2015); and 2) regulate any activities associated with the pollution of river
Ganga.
The strategy for NGM recognizes that the problems of pollution of the Ganga are
interlinked with urban development, environment, public health and sanitation; and water
resources; where inter-ministerial co-ordination is essential (Section 5.1). Along with the
integration of the institutional structure (of concerned Ministries) for implementation of
the scheme (Figure 5.4), it is also essential to explore possibilities to merge the programs
of "Swachh Bharat Mission" (Clean India Mission), and "100 Smart Cities Project" in
the program design of NGM to prevent wastage of resources or delays due to duplication
of work.
Flood risk management in the Ganga river basin has not been effectively
addressed in the plan of NGM so far and given the increased risk of flooding and
submergence of the Ganga-Brahmaputra river delta due to climate change and sea-level
rise, this needs to be considered. (L. W. Auerbach, 2015).
Additionally, development of historical, religious cities like Varanasi, Kedarnath,
Allahabad, Haridwar, Rishikesh placing them in the UNESCO World Heritage List will
promote tourism, enhancing revenue generation (Agrawal, 2015).
72

The above modest recommendations have been made based on an understanding
of the current status of the NGM by direct personal interviews of the officials at the
NMCG and news archives on current affairs. It is extremely likely that some of these
recommendations have been incorporated already or discussed on grounds of
implementation challenges, which is a limitation of this study due to lack of documented
data on the NGM, and also a great scope for further research.
5.4
Conclusions
The above chapter has given a through, structured analysis of the progress, issues,
and challenges of the Namami Gange Mission to answer the remaining sub-questions of
the second high level research question (Section 1.2-B2,B3) which along with the
literature review and policy discourse analysis in Chapter 3 (Section 3.4), sums up to
answer the second research question.
The Government's political will and commitment to the cause of restoring Ganga
to its pristine condition is encouraging (Iyer R. , 2014), though in the last one year since
its launch the NGM has received heavy criticism from the media and public for just
cosmetic river front development along the ghats.
A necessary shift in semantics is required to address the religious sentiments by
shaping the Ganga river pollution conversation in sync with the deepest religious values
of Hinduism that is linked to caring for the natural world (Sharma H. , 2015). "People's
relationship with the Ganga should be central to the NGM's restoration efforts" (Norton,
2015). Education and awareness with a holistic view of the Ganga will be the key to
achieve the goals of the NGM (Behera, 2015).
The progress of the NGM in light of the issues and challenges discussed in this
chapter is perfectly epitomized by Pushkal Upadhyay who stated-"Our biggest challenge
is that the whole nation has suddenly woken up to the cause of cleaning Ganga and is
73

expecting a miracle. The government, public, and media need to realize that a vast,
convoluted river like the Ganga cannot be cleaned in a short-term of one/two/three
years. It took nearly fifty years to clean the Thames, and the challenges faced by the
Indian economy today are far more complex than ever before. The progress over one
year has been satisfactory since we have a scheme in place to be assessed and
approved..." (Upadhyay, 2015).
The next chapter draws the final conclusions on this study identifying the
limitations and scope for further research.
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Chapter 6: Conclusions
"If Ganga lives, India lives. If Ganga dies, India dies."
­ (Dr. Vandana Shivaji, 2010)
This chapter reviews the policy discourse analysis of the literature study, and
field work research findings in light of the original aims, objectives, and research
questions (Chapter 1). Until now, I have confined my findings to the context of river
pollution abatement in the Ganga river basin alone. I recap those findings below in
Section 6.1, and discuss the limitations of my study (Section 6.3). I use the rest of this
chapter to discuss wider application of my research to successfully adopt river pollution
abatement to achieve water security in developing nations, and its implications for future
research and policy.
6.1
Is Namami Gange Mission : "Old Wine in a New
Bottle"?
The NGM, has successfully garnered national and international interest for
Ganga rejuvenation. The core activities of the scheme still focus on sewage and
industrial effluent discharge, however this time with a holistic, system's approach. On
the novelty of the NGM over the GAP, Pushkal Upadhyay rationally pointed that- "the
NGM cannot be remarkably different in its basic objectives from GAP, because the
underlying solution still is sewage treatment. The difference at this stage is in the mode,
technique, and speed of delivery." (Upadhyay, 2015). The targets have been rightly
structured into short-term, medium-term, and long-term (Section 5.1), but tangible
results are yet to be seen. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra added, "It is incorrect to view GAP as a
75

complete failure. The traditional solutions of pollution abatement still hold good in
principle. The change is in the river basin perspective, institutional structure for project
management, and a holistic interdisciplinary approach. The danger is in being too hasty
in implementing schemes with visible results as we lose sight of the vision. The NGM
was only formally launched in July,2014 and project execution will require consistent
efforts." (R.R.Mishra, 2015).
So, the NGM maybe old wine (GAP) in a new bottle, but as long as the
weaknesses of GAP are corrected in the policy design, and lessons learnt from its
failures, the objectives can be accomplished.
6.2
India's Water Security- Local Solutions to a Common
Global Problem?
India, is facing critical economic water scarcity in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-
Meghana basin (Figure 1.1). With sewage discharge and industrial waste entering into
the rivers dangerously shrinking the available quantity of potable water, river pollution
abatement is one of the vital means to increase fresh water availability (Debu.C, 2014).
However, local traditional solutions in water conservation such as ­ rainwater harvesting,
watershed development, drip irrigation and micro-irrigation techniques, construction of
local embankments for water storage must be widely adopted as part of the short-term
strategy of the NGM to increase the ecological flow in the river. Resource ownership,
and its sustainable management by local people, subject to regulation and enforcement
must be promoted to achieve the greater goal of water security.
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Thus, while this paper focused on the efficacy of the national river pollution
abatement program, the integration of small-scale, community based local solutions
within NGM and similar programs must be explored.
6.3
Limitations, Original Contributions, Future Research
A major limitation of this study is that it has only focused on the national river
pollution abatement programs (GAP, NGM) inspecting the multi-sectoral pollution issues
in the Ganga river basin; without a comparative examination of other similar
government initiatives for rivers both within India (eg: Yamuna, Gomti) and abroad (eg:
Thames, Murray Darling, Rhine, Euphrates-Tigris) (Shamout Lahn, 2015). For one,
the pollution issues of Ganga cannot be discussed in isolation without considering the
tributaries flowing into it, and second this limits the scope of utilization of the research
findings in future to pollution abatement in international rivers. To partly rebate this
limitation, the NGM is an `integrated Ganga conservation mission' (Section 3.4.2) for the
Ganga and its tributaries, which has been incorporated in the strategy for NGM. Also, the
GRBMP reports that formed the basis for designing the NGM, conducted a detailed study
on the river cleaning plans of the Rhine, and Murray Darling incorporating suitable
suggestions.
Consecutively, this paves the course for a research on the comparison of
international river cleaning programs: comparing the corresponding similarities between
complex issues of the GRB with Murray Darling (comparable in size and geography of
lower Ganga), Euphrates (economic, cultural issues), Rhine, Thames to learn from the
challenges, and solutions of their success/failures. This would serve as reference for
design of river pollution abatement programs in the developing nations of Asia, Africa,
and South America, all facing the uncertainty of future water scarcity.
Second, the research on the NGM is purely based on the analysis of the GRBMP
reports, NMCG website updates on projects proposed/implemented/sanctioned, news
77

archives; and primarily semi-structured interviews of the experts whose opinions maybe
politically, socially or culturally biased. However, given `no(known) formal academic
research exists on the NGM, this study makes a first, significant original research
contribution on the progress, issues, and challenges of the NGM with strong
recommendations for effective implementation. As an extension, I intend to carry out a
detailed analysis of the merits and demerits of this program design in near-future'.
Although forty days of fieldwork (June-July,2015) was undertaken, including
multiple-stakeholder interviews, participant observation, and archival investigations, time
constraints meant some groups of stakeholders could not be consulted (Section 2.3). It is
possible that some important factors were overlooked, while additional research would have
brought identified factors into further consideration. However, since technical reports of the
GRBMP have investigated the views and concerns of multiple parties through discussions
and consultations (Section 2.3); based on a thorough literature study, and personal
interactions with few members of the team that authored these reports this limitation has
been partly negated.
Religious perspective on methods of conservation weren't discussed in greater
detail (Section 5.2.3) to stay focused on the scope of this study. For a complex river like
Ganga, further study of ancient Hindu literature (Puranas and Vedas) on sustainable
development of rivers will give a good insight on methods to motivate changes in
religious practices, and initiate behavioral change (Agrawal, 2015), essential to
accomplish the NGM.
An important aspect is the involvement of judicial institutions and legal cases
fought for the conservation of the Ganga, like the case fought by Pandit Madan Mohan
Malviya in 1916 against the then colonial British Government in India for the
uninterrupted (aviral) flow of the Ganga river (Appendix 8), the 1987 M.C.Mehta case
78

against polluting tanneries of Kanpur (Appendix 9), National Green Tribunal Act(2010);
which are compelling cases for further investigation.
The scope of public participation and a bottom-up decentralized mechanism of
river pollution abatement (Das Tamminga, 2012) for the tributaries of Ganga,
highlighting the institutional aspects of shift from `government' to `governance',
focusing on "decentralization and participatory water governance" will be a valuable
extension to identifying solutions for groundwork implementation of NGM (Agrawal,
2015).
Additionally, the above study didn't discuss the economics of river pollution
abatement, for the long-term financial sustainability of the NGM and similar government
programs (Prasad, 2015). The scope of PPP, water pricing by creating a suitable mix of
incentives and disincentives with efficient regulatory arrangements, and creating a
market for treatment of waste-water and use of treated water (Tare, 2015), will be an
interesting case for research.
6.4
Final Conclusions
This research aimed to examine the success, failures, issues, challenges, success,
and progress of the two major national Ganga river pollution abatement programs- the
GAP and NGM launched by the Central Government of India to understand the social
implications of the river pollution on different sections of the society. It concluded that
"the GAP was a well-intended, objectively-directed, insufficiently-drafted, and poorly-
implemented river cleaning policy".
The major accomplishment of this study is that `it is one of the first academic
documentations on the progress of NGM- its vision, strategy, projects
proposed/sanctioned/implemented, since its announcement in July,2014 one year ago;
and will serve as a guiding academic reference for further critical analysis on the NGM
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in future research.' Subsequently, this paper offers strong, practical recommendations
(Section 5.3) for improvements in the current strategy for the NGM, after a thorough
analysis (Chapter 4,5) of the vast data collected for this comprehensive study. Finally, the
thesis lays a strong, fundamental progressive baseline for further study on the multiple
aspects of the NGM.
The direct applicability of this research is for making design and implementation
modifications in the scheme for NGM based on the recommendations. Second, the
strengths, weaknesses, successes and failures of the GAP offer novel lessons for future
river cleaning programs both in India and in developing economies with similar issues.
Finally, this study offers a good reference for further research as discussed in Section 6.3.
My concluding question at NMCG on completion of the field work for this
research was- "Can NGM achieve the mammoth task of Ganga Rejuvenation?" To this
Pushkal Upadhyay responded- "At this stage, it is too early to decisively comment on this
question which will be answerable over the course of next one year when the scheme is
completely designed" (Upadhyay, 2015).
Reflecting on this, I suggested it was necessary to clearly define the benchmark
and the parameters for assessment (Agrawal, 2015). The approach for the NGM is
holistic. While the objectives and targets are well-defined, the desired quantifiable results
are not(yet). Lastly, for India's own water security and sustainable development, and the
resultant impact it executes on the world today (Section 1.3), it has no choice but to
achieve the mission of Ganga rejuvenation! The question is how soon/how late and with
what benchmark will it achieve this? A compelling argument to continue this research...
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Appendices
Appendix I: Details of interviewees; interviewed from 18
th
June ­
27
th
July , 2015
DATE, PLACE
DESIGNATION
1.
19.06.2015, Oxford
Professor, IIT Kanpur
2.
25.06.2015, Varanasi
Mahant, SMF
3.
25.06.2015, Varanasi
Scientist, SMF
4.
25.06.2015, Varanasi
Priest, Tulsi Ghat
5.
26.06.2015, Varanasi
Professor, BHU
6.
26.06.2015, Varanasi
Civil Engineer
7.
29.06.2015, Varanasi
Aide to the Mayor, Varanasi
8.
29.06.2015, Varanasi
Retired Professor in Veda, BHU
9.
29.06.2015, Varanasi
Retired Civil Servant
10.
29.06.2015, Varanasi
Organizing Secretary, Samskrita
Bharati
11.
30.06.2015, Varanasi
Vedic Scholar
12.
01.07.2015, Varanasi
Secretary, Varanasi
Development Authority
13.
01.07.2015, Varanasi
Boatman
14.
01.07.2015, Varanasi
Boatman
15.
01.07.2015, Varanasi
Priest 1
16.
01.07.2015, Varanasi
Priest 2
17.
02.07.2015, New Delhi
Joint Secretary, Urban Housing
(Former Mission Director, NMCG)
18.
03.07.2015, New Delhi
NMCG
19.
03.07.2015, New Delhi
Technical Manager (Unit Head),
NMCG
20.
03.07.2015, New Delhi
Industrial Pollution, NMCG
21.
06.07.2015, New Delhi
Founder, Sulabh International
22.
06.07.2015, New Delhi
Urban Housing
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23.
06.07.2015, New Delhi
NMCG
24.
07.07.2015, New Delhi
Research Officer, NMCG
25.
07.07.2015, New Delhi
Research Officer, NMCG
26.
07.07.2015, New Delhi
Research Officer, NMCG
27.
07.07.2015, New Delhi
Senior Professor, IIPA
28.
07.07.2015, New Delhi
Assistant Professor, IIPA
29.
07.07.2015, New Delhi
Head, Library, IIPA
30.
07.07.2015, New Delhi
Director, WWF
31.
08.07.2015, New Delhi
Assistant GIS Specialist, NMCG
32.
08.07.2015, New Delhi
Senior Social Management
Specialist, NMCG
33.
08.07.2015, New Delhi
Consultant Biodiversity, NMCG
34.
08.07.2015, New Delhi
Director (Finance) Additional
Mission Director (Admin), NMCG
35.
09.07.2015, Roorkee
Professor, IIT Roorkee
36.
09.07.2015, New Delhi
Author
37.
12.07.2015, New Delhi
(Then) Mission Director, NMCG
38.
12.07.2015, New Delhi
Senior Environmental Speialist
39.
12.07.2015, New Delhi
Scientist, CPCB
40.
14.07.2015, Kanpur
Professor, IIT Kanpur
41.
14.07.2015, Kanpur
Professor, IIT Kanpur
42.
14.07.2015, Kanpur
Research Students in the Department of Civil Engineering,
IIT Kanpur
43.
18.07.2015, Haridwar
Priests in temples at Haridwar
Note on Names: I have not listed the names of the interviewees in this document, however
permission from all interviewees was obtained and they have been acknowledged in the thesis
submitted to the Examination Schools at the University of Oxford. Some subjects (boatmen,
priests particularly) were more comfortable with their "unofficial" names. Three interviewee in
Varanasi were interviewed in Hindi which I am well versed with and have translated the quotes to
my best knowledge. The boatmen and priests I met in Varanasi and Haridwar were also
interviewed in Hindi. All other interviewees were interviewed in English.
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Appendix 2: List of Questions for Semi-Structured Interviews
Part I : Scientific-Political
Ganga River Degradation Ganga Action Plan
1. How have you seen the river Ganga change/degrade/improve over the last 30 years and why?
2. What do you know about the Ganga Action Plan, can you highlight some significant features?
3. What do you understand were the successes and failures of the Ganga Action Plan? Was the Ganga
Action plan not drafted well or was it poorly implemented or both or neither?
GRBEMP Clean Ganga Mission
4. What is the GRBEMP? Has the GRBEMP taken a system's approach to propose a suitable plan for
Ganga rejuvenation?
5. What do you think should be the steps towards the Ganga river clean-up action plan under
development now?
6. Do you see a widening scientific-political gap in the Clean Ganga Mission?
7. What has been the progressive action on the "Namami Gange Mission" led by the Central
Government of India since May, 2014 until now?
8. To what extent do you believe the Central Government can live up to its promises of cleaning the
river Ganga and why?
9. Can you comment upon the economic viability of the Namami Gange Mission in light of the recent
allocation of 20,000 crore rupees by the Central Government towards the Clean Ganga Mission.
Part B : Social (Religious) Significance of Ganga Namami Gange Mission:
10. What is your perception about the river Ganga? How do you relate to it? What has contributed to
the construction of this perception?
11. How have you and people around you been affected by the increased pollution of river Ganga?
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12. What is you perception on the religious significance of the river Ganga and why? Does this add to
the complexity of the Namami Gange Mission or is the driving force behind it?
13. How can you/ have you contributed towards the process of river pollution abatement and clean
up?
14. Do you think participation for cleaning the river can be self-motivated or purely altruistic for
common good? If not what incentives should be provided to motivate the participation?
Part C : Signaling the End of Interview:
Final Thoughts on ­ Is the Namami Gange Mission, a politically-driven, mass movement? Does it
even matter what the driving forces are if the result is environmentally beneficial?
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Appendix 3 : The `Class B' Ganga River Water Quality Standards set
by the Menon Committee
Indicator
Unit
Bio-Chemical
Maximum 3 mg per litre or less
Dissolved Oxygen
Minimum 5 mg per litre or more
Fecal Coliform
500 (as most probable number) pe
Total Coliform
2500 (as most probable number) pe
pH
6.5 to 8.5
Source : (NRCD, 2009)
Appendix 4 : State-Wise Status of GAP-I and GAP-II
Interception, Diversion and Sewage Treatment Plants under GAP
State
Interception
Diversion
Sewage Treatment Plants
Schemes
Sewer Lines
(in Kms)
Scheme
Sewage Treatment
(in MLD)
T
A
T
A
T
A
T
A
Uttar Pradesh
40
40
136.00 136.00 13
13
375.09
375.09
West Bengal
31
31
173.14 173.14 15
14
371.60
341.60
Bihar
17
17
53.71
53.71
7
5
135.50
118.00
Total
88
88
362.85 362.85 35
32
882.19
834.69
Where : T= Total capacity sanctioned in MLD ; A= Total capacity created/Available in MLD
Source: (CAG, 2000)
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Appendix 5 : The Designated Best-Use Classification for Inland
Waters by CPCB
Class
Designated Best Use (DBU)
Criteria
A
Drinking water source without
conventional treatment but after
disinfection.
pH
6.5 ­ 8.5
DO
6mg/l or more
BOD
2mg/l or less
Total Coliform
50 MPN/100ml
B
Outdoor bathing (Organized).
pH
6.5 ­ 8.5
DO
5mg/l or more
BOD
3mg/l or less
Total Coliform
500 MPN/100ml
C
Drinking water source with
conventional treatment followed by
disinfection.
pH
6.5 ­ 8.5
DO
4mg/l or more
BOD
3mg/l or less
Total Coliform
5000 MPN/100ml
D
Propagation of wildlife and fisheries.
pH
6.5 ­ 8.5
DO
4mg/l or more
Free Ammonia
1.2mg/l
E
Irrigation, industrial cooling and
controlled waste disposal.
pH
6.5 ­ 8.5
Electrical
Conductivity
2250 mhos/cm
Sodium
Absorption Ratio
26
Boron
2mg/l
Source : (IIT-Consortium, 2011, p. 16)
86

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Appendix 6 : NGRBA Members
The following were the constituting members of the high-power National Ganga River Basin
Authority, formed in 2008. The new expert member committee however has not been announced
yet and the list below includes the founding committee in 2008.
A.
Government members of the Committee :
1.
Prime Minister of India, chair
2.
Minister of Environment and Forests (Union Minister)
3.
Minister of Finance
4.
Minister of Urban Development
5.
Minister of Water Resources
6.
Minister of Power
7.
Minister of Sciences and Technology
8.
Chief Minister of Uttarakhand
9.
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
10.
Chief Minister of Bihar
11.
Chief Minister of Jharkhand
12.
Chief Minister of West Bengal
13.
Ministry Of Environment and Forests (State minister)
14.
Ministry Of Environment and Forests, secretary
B.
Expert members of the committee (in 2008)
15.
Late Veer Bhadra Mishra, President, Sankat Mochan Foundation, Varanasi.
16.
Rajendra Singh, Chairman, Tarun Bharat Sangh,Jaipur.
17.
Smt. Rama Rauta, Convener, Save Ganga Movement President, National Women's
Organization, Pune.
18.
Sunita Narain, Director, Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi.
19.
Prof. B.D. Tripathi, Coordinator, Centre for Environmental Science Technology, Banaras
Hindu University, Varanasi.
20.
Dr. Ravi Chopra, Director, People's Science Institute, Dehradun.
21.
Dr. R.K. Sinha, Department of Zoology, Patna University.
22.
Prof. R.H. Siddiqi, Former Professor, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.
23.
Prof. K.J. Nath,Former Director, All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata
Source : (IITC - MPD, 2015)
87

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Appendix 7 : Free Prior Informed (Oral) Consent Form
Hello again, I'm Candidate 131352, from the University of Oxford and I wanted to talk to
you about my project on - "River Pollution Abatement to Achieve Water Security: Issues,
Challenges and Progress of Ganga Action Plan and Namami Gange Mission towards Cleaning the
River Ganga in India"; I gave you information about before.
Are you interested in taking part in the project? YES/NO
YES : That's great. I just wanted to go over again some details of the project to make sure you
understand what's involved for you. These were that:- this is a project about the Ganga Action
Plan and Namami Gange Mission and it's being used for my postgraduate project and maybe used
for a paper I'm writing. If you take part, I'll need you to do a 30 minute interview with me in
person.
This interview will require you to answer a set of questions that I have written down and have
been approved by the Oxford University's Ethics committee. You don't have to say yes to the
project and you can ask me any questions you want before or throughout. Please do note that you
can also withdraw at any stage. This project may need me to quote you directly /indirectly in
research publications and I now ask your permission for doing so. If you do not wish to be quoted
or named in my thesis please do tell me and I shall refrain from doing so. For my reference I will
also do an audio recording of the interview. If you do not consent to this please do tell me now or
at any stage during the interview.
This is also to inform you that my written work will be published online
Do feel free to contact me if you have any concern. My mobile is **********.
You can also reach me at
candidate131352@******.ox.ac.uk
.
Are you still willing to take part? YES/NO
So if you're happy with all the information, and have no more questions, let's start.
88

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Appendix 8 : Detailed Document of Court Case
(fought by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya for Uninterrupted Flow of the Ganga River in 1916)
No. 1002
GENERAL ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT
The 28th April 1917
PROCEEDINGS OF A CONFERENCE HELD AT HARDWAR ON THE 18th AND 19th DECEMBER 1916, REGARDING
THE NEW GANGES CANAL WORKS HARIDWAR.
1. His honour arrived at Bhimgoda at 9 a.m. on the 18th December and was met by the following Chiefs, Officials and Private gentlemen:
A. Chiefs :
His Highness the Maharaja of Gwaliar.
His Highness the Maharajadhiraj of Jaipur.
His Highness the Maharaja of Bikaner.
His Highness the Maharajadhiraj of Patiala.
His Highness the Maharaja of Alwar.
His Highness the Maharaja of Benaras.
B. Officials :
The Hon'ble Maharaja Bahadur of Darbhanga, Member of Council, Behar.
The Hon'ble MR. ROSE, Secretary of the Government of India, Public Works Department.
The Hon'ble MR. BARLOW, CLE. Chief Engineer, United Provinces.
MR. STANDLEY. Superintending Engineer, Irrigation Branch. U.P.
MR. COOPER, Executive Engineer, Irrigation Branch. United Provinces.
The Hon'ble MR. R. BURN, Chief Secretary to Government. U.P.
C. Private Gentlemen :
The Hon'ble Maharaja of Kasimbazar, President of Sabha
The Hon'ble LALA SUKHBIR SINGH, General Secretary Hindu
Sabha. The Hon'ble PANDIT MADAN MOHAN MALAVIYA.
The Hon'ble RAJA SIR RAMPAL SINGH, K.C.I.E., of Kurri,
Sudauli, U.P RAJ GIRRAJ SINGH of Kuchesar, United Provinces.
LALA RAM PRASAD. Hardwar, United
Provinces. SARDAR INDRAJ SINGH, Hardwar,
United Provinces. SURJI BABA, Hardwar, United
Provinces.
RAI SALIG RAM THAKUR SAHIB, Hardwar and Lucknow, United
Provinces. MAHANT LACHHMAN DAS, DehraDun, United Provinces.
THAKUR MOHAN CHAND, Amritsar. Punjab.
RAI KANHAIYA LAL BAHADUR, Executive Engineer (Retired),
Punjab. The Hon'ble RAJ RAM SARAN DAS BAHADUR, Lahore.
BABU GOBARDHAN DAS, Deputy Magistrate, Karnal, Punjab.
MR. E. PURVES, Chief Engineer (Retired), Punjab, on behalf of the Ruling Chiefs.
PANDIT DINDAYAL SHARMA of Jhajjar, who had accepted the invitation to attend, was prevented from coming by
sickness. CHAUDHRI RAGHUBIR NARYAN SINGH of Asora was unable to come.
MR. ANTHONy, late Chief Engineer, Irrigation Branch United Provinces attended and gave valuable assistance.
2.
In the first place, the model which had been prepared by the irrigation branch was inspected. The party then proceeded to the site of the
actual works and made a thorough examination on the spot, all features being explained by the officers of the Irrigation Department. The
conference then reassembled at Bhimgoda and the following discussion took place.
3.
His Honour the Lieutenant- Governor opened the conference and said your Highness, you have put me under a very great debt of
obligation by coming to assist in the settlement today of a question which closely affects the Hindu religion. With your Highness
permission, in order that we may come to a speedy understanding, I propose that each of the gentlemen who is here should be invited in
turn to express his views; his dissatisfaction, if he has dissatisfaction, with the works now in progress; and then to make such suggestions
as he has to remove any discontent in his mind or in the mind of the community he represents. After that your Highnesses will probably
call me to place the whole matter before you and have the benefit of your advice.
89

The Hon'ble Maharaja of Kasim Bazar said that the Ganga was the mother of all Hindus. Its water was used in all domestic purposes
from Hardwar to Saugor Island. In Hardwar there were three channels. One channel washes the holy ghats; another channel serves the
Mayapur canal and the third would now be closed up by the new works. We want a free channel so that pure water may flow through it.
We have framed this memorial to the government asking that there should be only one channel to enable a free flow of water to Saugor
Island. We want pure water but we are laymen and cannot say how this should be done.
His Honour enquired if he wanted the entire water of the Ganga to flow through or would he allow a part of it to be diverted into the
canal; the Maharaja replied that he wanted the entire water of the Ganga to flow from the Himalayas to the sea. (He then made remarks
about canals and malaria in Bengal which it was difficult to follow.)
5. The Hon'ble Maharaja of Darbhanga said that he wanted the flow of the Ganges to be unfettered for the whole twelve months. If there
was any secret difficulty in this, he would like to know.
6. The Hon'ble Madan Mohan Malviya began by saying that those who were present at the Conference of 1914 misunderstood the
decision that was come to then. There was no suspicion in their minds that Government was not carrying out its promises. The point
simply was that they had misunderstood the decision. Two points had given cause for doubt. The first was that in the new channel to he
opened there was to be no appearance of a canal. The canal went for a 1000 miles, but there were no ghats any where on it. People
incurred large expenses in order to go to the Ganges. From the communiqué, that was issued by the Government he had understood that
there would be an opening in the weir. He discovered that the opening will be in the shutter which itself be placed above the water. They
did not object to the canal, they did not object to a little more water being taken for the canal but in the weir, there should be an opening
to allow enough water to pass through unfettered for all their needs. He need not say how deep the feeling was all over India. People
from Bikaner, Jaisalmer and all parts of the country come to Allahabad. They relied on the fact that the Ganges was free and pure. He
said the opening should be a natural one and there should be no artificial embankments, etc from the discussion which appeared in the
papers it is clear that people want a sufficient opening so that they can bath. It must be wide enough to let a sufficient stream through.
Thousands of people bath along the course of the river. The opening must be so wide that all places below it receive pure water. People
seem to be dissatisfied with the regulator. Possibly there was a misunderstanding both on the part of those who were present in 1914 and
the outside public, it is important to remove this dissatisfaction in view of the holiness of the river. Even if some extra cost is incurred the
feeling of the people should be soothed. It is said that the agriculturists will suffer if the volume of water that passes into the canal is
reduced; but no Hindu would place his material prosperity above the dictates of his conscience and his religion. In his opinion a 5-feet
opening was not enough. Five to 10 lakhs of bathers come to thiraths. They come from great distances and undergo great discomforts.
But they will stand any trouble because it is a matter of faith. Even if' the cost were 1 lakh or 2 lakhs that should not matter when it was
a question of belief with the people. This must be borne in mind. They believe that the Ganges makes people pure and removes sin. He
hoped that something would be done.
Questioned by His Honour about the regulator he said he did not object to the regulator if it was open like a bridge built on piers. He did
not want any gates or sluices and he would prefer not to have a farash.
7. The Hon'ble Lala Sukhbir Singh said that he was present at the 1914 Conference and understood that channel No. 1 would remain as
at present. That had been done and was satisfactory. He said that through the weir enough water should flow to enable them to burn their
dead and for their other religious requirements. He did not think an opening of 5 feet is enough. Moreover, he objected to the opening
being no lower than the top of the weir. Further he had understood that the new supply channel should be so made that it would appear as
a natural cut and would have no gates or sluices. As the head works were now constructed it would not be the water of the Ganges that
would flow down to the sea but that of the canal. He also said that the people did not want canal water at the ghats.
His Honour interposed to ask how much water he wanted to flow through unimpeded. Lala Sukhbir Singh replied that he could not
specify the volume in cubic feet. In the memorial submitted by the Hindu Sabha an opening of 30 feet was asked for.
His Honour enquired if the 30 feet had been based on any calculation. Lala Sukhbir Singh admitted that no calculation had been
made. The Figure was selected at random.
8. Thakur Monan Chand did not want the water to be held up. The masonry of the regulator should be level with the ground. He objected
to the appearance of a canal which was caused by the regulator.
9. The Hon'ble Rai Ram Saran Das Bahadur wanted the decision arrived at the 1914 Conference to be carried out. He associated himself
with what had been said by the Maharaja of Kasimbazar, the Hon'ble Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and Thakur Mohan Chand. They
seemed to have misunderstood the position in 1914; they make no complaint but rely on government to support their religion. He did not
understand that there would be gates. He thought there would be a clear opening as provided in channel No. 1.
10. Rai Salig Ram Thakur Sahib said that from the 1914 Conference he understood that there would be no restriction to the free flow of
the water as in channel No.l. The people relied on the Government for protection of their religion.
11. The Hon'ble Raja Rampal Singh was not at the Conference of 1914 but saw the communiqué that was subsequently issued. He had
forgotten what that communiqué said. He wanted the opening free and enough water to flow through, though with the other speakers he
90

could give no opinion as to what the volume of the flow should be. He did not object to a masonry foundation but it should be level with
the ground. He did not want any gate.
12. Rai Girraj Singh said that if less water was allowed into the canals the agriculturist would suffer. He could see no harm in the work.
13. Sardar Indraj Singh said that the new channel should have a free opening. He had no objection to a farash of masonry flooring on
bed level.
14. Surji Baba said there should be no gate or raised foundation. There should be no. gate in No. 1 channel. Since the new headwords
have been made, the whole river has become a canal and none of the Ghats between Bhimgoda and Hardwar were able to get the pure
Ganges water. Wherever there is a gate, there must be a canal, call it by whatever name you wish: He quoted recent examples of people
bringing bones from the Punjab and elsewhere to throw into the river when they saw the works at Hardwar Urey took them on to
Rishikesh.
15. Lala Ram Prasad did not want the canal.
16. Mahant Lachhman Das wanted the Nildhara dam to be opened so as to ensure a sufficiently free flow of water. He could not say what
he understood by a sufficient flow. He also understood that the new channel would be a free opening like channel No. 1.
17. Rai Kanhaiya Lai Bahadur said he was prepared to answer any question Government might put. In 1914 none of the non-official
gentlemen, who attended, asked him about the regulators. He knew there would be a regulator. He did not tell them. He recognized the
sanctity of tiraths and of the Ganges water. He agreed that the channel had no appearance of a canal. He said we Hindus number crores
and our feeling must be respected. He thought that wider opening could be left in the dam. He still thought so. The Ganges would adjust
its own level. He then went into technical details and finished up by saying that there was no need to have gates or regulators. The bed
would be 5 or 6 feet above the gap.
The gap might be widened to 30 feet. He wound up by saying that Hindus were very anxious for their religious faith.
18. Rai Sri Ram Bahadur said he had 40 years' government service. The Hindus did not want the Ganges to be stopped. They did not
want gates or regulators and there was no need to have them. If there were no gates the Har-Ki-Pairi would not suffer from pollution. In
the first place he would have only a bed of boulders below the regulators. If that cut up too much, he could see no objection to its being
made pakka. He thought a 5-feet gap was not enough. Without calculations he could not say how wide the gap should be.
19. The Hon'ble Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya pointed out that there was no water at the Daksh in Kankhal and people were distressed
about that. He said that the original calculations for Mayapur escape were designed to give water at Kankhal and it had been found that a
mistake was made. He hoped that in view of the possibility of error the engineers, to be on the safe side, would leave an ample margin.
20. The Hon'ble Lala Sukhbir Singh said there were many ghats below Hardar and Kankhal and he hoped they would get sufficient
water.
21. The Conference then entered into an informal discussion with the Engineers of the different suggestions that had been put forward,
by 5 O'clock it seemed possible that an agreement would be arrived-at, and three alternative noted below were reduced to writing and
communicated to those present :­
(1) That the new channel should be diverted so as to run parallel to the river from the new regulator down to Mayapur; at the same time a
small supplementary channel would be taken out of the bund which could be closed by planks so as to avoid its silting up entirely. This
channel would help to supply water to the Har-ki-pairi. It was pointed out in the agreement arrived at in 1914 that if No.l channel is not
regulated at, all as was agreed to, it would tend to shoal and might be without water for some time in every year.
(2) That some bays in the regulator should be closed permanently while others should be left open absolutely and permanently. The
floor would be level with the bed of the new channel which has been dug. In addition a new channel would be opened which could be
controlled. The benefit of this alternative is that for the greater part of the year the amount of uncontrolled water in the channel running
past Hardwar, would exceed the amount which had passed through a regulator.
(3) That the regulator should remain as designed but that some bays in it should be permanently opened, while some should have
regulators. In addition to this, Kachcha bunk would be required annually to keep No. 1 channel open.
22. The Conference then adjourned till the next day; but private discussion between certain of the Chiefs, the Engineers, and a few of the
Hindu representatives, continued until a late hour.
19th December 1916,
The gentlemen who had attended on the 18th were again present with the exception of Mr. Anthony and the Hon'ble Maharaja of Kasim
Bazar who had been obliged to leave and Lai a Ram Prasad who was unwell.
91

The following five gentlemen were also present at the request of the General Secretary of the Sabha as they were signatories to the
memorial:-
SWAM I MANUAL NATH Jl of Rishikhesh.
RAl BAHADUR LALA HARIMAL KHANNA of Peshawar.
RAl BAHADUR LALA HARI CHAND) of Multan.
RAI SAHIB LALA PANNA LAL of Ambala, and
DR. PARAS RAM SHARMA of Firozpur.
23. The Conference re-assembled at Bhimgoda at 11 a.m. on the 19th and proceeded to discuss still further the alternatives which had
been suggested and certain other which were now put forward.
24. His Honor arrived at 1 O'clock, the gentlemen who had attended on the 18th were again present with the exception of Mr. Anthony
and the Hon'ble Maharaja of Kasimbazar who had been obliged to leave and Lala Ram Prasad who was unwell.
25. It then appeared that a fourth suggestion had been made, namely. (1) That the new regulator should remain permanently open and (2)
That a Kachcha bund as at present constructed should be made at supply channel No.l so as. to ensure the supply of 1,000 cusecs down it
whenever the supply failed to reach that amount. This suggestion was discussed of great length and was finally put before the Conference
by the Hon'ble Maharaja Bahadur of Darbhanga, at 4 p.m.
26. The Maharaja Bahadur said :­
Your Honor. -- We have considered the question very carefully and have decided to put the following proposals before your Honour's
Government. They are as follows:-
A. (1) In order to guarantee the uninterrupted flow of the Ganges passing over the Har-Ki-Pairi and other ghats at Hardwar, a kachcha
bund should be made every year as at present at the head channel No. 1 guaranteeing a minimum supply of 1,000 cusecs.
(2) Regulator under construction, the reinforced concrete face-wall below the road way and between the piers should be completely
removed and there should be no regulation of the water in any way.
(3) The sill of the regulation also should be removed to the floor level of the sluices in order that the flow of the Ganges may remain
unobstructed.
(4) The triangular portion of earth bank below the regulator on the upstream side of the supply channel should be removed in order that
there may be no appearance of a canal below the bridge.
B. (1) The free opening left in die weir should go down to the top of foundation level.
(2) The opening of the weir should be sufficiently wide to ensure that the supply of water for places below Hardwar shall be sufficient in
accordance with our Shastras.
(3) We have been advised that a minimum discharge of 1.000 cusecs would meet the requirement, but if this is considered impracticable,
will the Government be pleased to state what amount will, in their opinion, meet the purpose.
(4) For this purpose a monthly discharge will have to be taken and kept on record.
C. (1) That suitable arrangements should be made for a free supply of water to Kankhal ghats.
D. (1) An opening corresponding to the one at Hardwar should be made in the weir at Narora also.
27. The meeting was adjourned to enable the Government Engineers to consider these proposals.
28. On the members of the Conference re-assembling His Honor said: - I am much obliged to those gentlemen of the sabha and their
associates who have so clearly put before us the proposals that they have decided to recommend for the consideration of Government. I
have in the interval put those proposals before our engineers who naturally wish to throw what they recommend to Government into a
little more technical form. They have, accordingly, worded what they propose to advice in their own way and I will ask the Chief
Engineer to read out his proposal. But I think 1 can assure you what he is going to read is for all practical purposes, not only on grounds
of business but of sentiment identical with what you have put before us.
29. Mr. BARLOW then read out the following statement:-
(i) In order to guarantee an uninterrupted flow of the Ganges through the Har-Ki-Pairi and past the other ghats of Hardwar, a kachcha
bund will be made at the head of channel No. 1 when necessary. A minimum supply of 1.000 cusecs in that channel being guaranteed,
except at periods when clearing of the shoaling in channel No. 1 is in progress.
(ii) The irrigation branch, however, reserves to itself the right of reducing at any time and at any point the size of channel No.1 on the
understanding that any reduction wills be. Carried out in accordance with existing conditions. For instance, it ma be found necessary to
reduce the width of the entrance into the channel and in such a case a reduction will be carried out by means of masonry walls similar to
the existing masonry walls. 'His irrigation branch also reserves to itself the right of lowering the bed of supply channel No. 1 at any point
if it may be found advisable, but in all cases the continuous thread of the stream will not be interfered with.
(iii) The head of the new supply channel will not be fitted with gates. Some bays will be completely closed up with masonry and earth
banks, some bays will be completely open. All bays, whether opened or closed will have a foot bridge. The floor on the Hardwar side
92

will be level with the sill and with the bed of the supply channel. 'The irrigation branch reserves to itself the right of keeping open or
closed by masonry as many of the bays as experience from time to time shows may be necessary for the purpose of feeding the canal
which stalls at Mayapur and also in the interest of the safety of the town of Hardwar and the existing canal works, but such bays as are
kept open will be completely open as described above and what- ever bays are closed will be kept completely closed with masonry and
earth banks as mentioned above. The existing grooves will be left in what is now called the head or the supply channel, These grooves
will never be used except in cases of some impending calamity or of actual accident to Hardwar or the existing canal works, when it is of
vital importance to close completely the openings by means of wooden planks for a short period.
(iv) A free opening will be left in the weir which will go down to floor level. The opening will be so eonstureteel that it will give,
according to the calculations of the irrigation branch, a discharge of 400 cusecs at the cold weather low level of Mater.
(v) At the Mayapur regulator an opening will be made, calculated to provide a permanent flow of 200 cusecs for the services of the
Kankhal ghats.
30. His Honour continued:--'Now. Gentlemen. I am very unwilling to take advantage of any apparent technicalities in these proposals,
and if any gentlemen want to ask any question or to suggest any interpretation of any phrase.I should like to have his suggestions now.
31. A brief discussion then took place, followed by a short adjournment while the terms of settlement were finally drawn up.
32. On the members re-assembling. His Honour said :--Your Highness and gentlemen.-- I want to read to you what I now understand
to be common ground both to the representatives of British India and to the engineers who are responsible lor the conduct and
maintenance of these works :--
(i) In order to guarantee an uninterrupted flow of the Ganges through the Har-Ki-Pairi and past the other ghats of Hardwar; a kachha
bund will be made at the head of channel No.l when necessary. A minimum supply of 1.000 cusecs in that channel being guaranteed
except at periods when clearing of the shoaling in channel No. 1 is in progress; the irrigation branch undertaking that this work shall be
carried through as expeditiously as possible in order to ensure a flow from this channel into the Har-Ki-Pairi.
(ii) The opening to supply channel No. 1 will be left for the present exactly as it is. Should experience show that this is dangerous, it may
be necessary to curtail the width of the present opening and to take measures to prevent the retrogression of the bed. But no steps beyond
those will be taken without prior consultation with the Hindu community.
(iii) The head of the new supply channel will not be fitted with gates. Some bays contiguous to each other will be completely closed up
with masonry and earth banks, some bays will be completely open. All bays, whether opened or closed will have a foot bridge. The floor
on the Hardwar side will be level with the sill and with the bed of the supply channel. The irrigation branch reserves to itself the right of
keeping open or closed by masonry as many of the bays as experience from time to time shows may be necessary for the purpose of
feeding the canal which starts at Mayapur and also in the interest of the safely of the town of Hardwar and the existing canal works, but
such bays as are kept open will be completely open as described above and whatever bays are closed will be kept completely closed with
masonry and earth banks as mentioned above. The existing grooves will be left in what is now called the head of the supply channel.
These grooves will never be used except in cases of some impending calamity or of actual accident to Hardwar or the existing canal
works, when it is of vital importance to close completely the openings by means of wooden planks for a short period.
(iv) A free opening will be left in the weir which will go down to floor level. The opening will be so constructed that it will give,
according to the calculations of the irrigation branch, a minimum discharge of 400 cusecs at the cold weather low level of the river. For
this purpose a record of gauges will be kept by the irrigation branch.
(v) At the Mayapur regulator a free opening, going down to the upstream bed level will be made calculated to provide a permanent flow
of 200 cusecs tor the service of the Kankhal ghats, which after leaving Kankhal will ultimately flow into the Ganges.
Now before I take the last step and place this proposed settlement before Your Highness who have so kindly and patiently taken
part in this conference, I want to explain only two small matters. I want to say that if your Highness are able to advise and if with
your advice, I can accept this solution, I shall record formally and publicly that this understanding is to be taken as supplementary
to the agreement of 1914,* which remains in force in so far as it is consistent with the provisions of today's settlement. I wish to
bring to your notice that all reference to Narora has been omitted from this settlement, the reason being that the question of
Narora has passed out of my hands and gone into those of the Government of India. But I will undertake that the wishes of the
Sabha are placed before the Government of India for the consideration. And now Your Highness. I have to ask you whether, after
all you have heard, you feel yourselves disclosed to say that this paper contains what you advise to be a reasonable settlement.
33. The Chiefs considered among themselves and gave an answer in affirmative.
34. His Honour then said:--Gentlemen.- I have great pleasure in informing you that His Highness the Maharajaof Alwar gives a general
acceptance and that all the other ruling Chiefs present accept these proposals and recommend them as a reasonable settlement in
consonance with Hindu sentiment. And now, gentlemen, before we part, I want to express my own deep indebtedness to everyone who
has taken pan in this conference:- in the first place to the representatives of the All-India Hindu Sabha and of British India generally, for
the clear, full and intelligent manner in which they have discussed the whole of these complicated problems and for the temperate and
definite method in which they have put their wishes before us. I wish next to express my very great indebtedness to the representatives of
the Irrigation Branch, Mr. Barlow, the Chief Engineer, and his assistants, for the prompt and friendly manner .in which they have dealt
with the problems which came before them in somewhat unfamiliar term. To their unofficial colleague, Mr. Egerton Purvers, who has
93

come as technical adviser to the Ruling Chiefs, I tender my thanks for the sound advice and ready assistance that he has given to us all in
these long technical discussions. I wish next in a very special manner to acknowledge our obligations to Mr. Rose, the Secretary to the
Government of India in the Public Works Department, for his most admirable and valuable help and for the perfect temper and kindness
with which he has received all the manifold propositions that were placed before him. And, lastly, it is difficult for me to find words to
thank Your Highnesses for the great trouble you have taken, the time and comfort you have sacrificed and the perfect courtesy you have
displayed, in advising me in this matter. I am perfectly sure that the lasting gratitude of the whole Hindu community will be your best
reward.
35. The Hon'bel Maharaja of Darbhanga in proposing a vote of thanks to His Honour said:-
We want to express our most heartfelt thanks to Sir James Meston for the very kind way in which he has listened to our grievances and
for the very satisfactory settlement reached through his kindness and his care,
36. His Highness the Maharaja of Bikaner in seconding the vote of thanks to His Honour said :--
Your Honour and gentlemen, on behalf of their Highness the Ruling Princes present here as well as on my own, I rise to second the vote
of thanks proposed by the Maharaja of Darbhanga to His Honour for the very satisfactory manner in which, considering the very great
difficulties and the circumstances, a reasonable solution of the difficulties has been arrived at by which the legitimate fears, anxieties and
even grievances of the Hindu Community of India are in a fair way of being removed. There has never been any question, I feel sure, on
the part of any one in India of there being a breach of faith on the part of the Local Government or the Irrigation officers, but
unfortunately through a series of circumstances some contretemps and misunderstandings had arisen, and the very tactful and patient
way in which the settlement has gradually been arrived at is a matter for rejoicing. We, who come from outside the limits of British India
Proper, have found it a very great pleasure not only to be associated with His Honour and his Government but with our brethren in
British India, and to-find how reasonable and earnest they have been in their desire to come to a satisfactory settlement. 1 feel therefore
that I am voicing the feelings not only of my brother princes but also of the people of British India and especially of the representatives
who are present here today when we convey at the same time our sincere thanks to the officers of the Irrigation Department and
especially to MR. Barlow, for the manner in which they have tried to meet our requests and our demands. It has been a happy augury in
'the past that the relations between the United Provinces Irrigation Department and the people of Hardwar have been most cordial and I
think that the settlement will help to maintain but will vastly increase those feelings of friendship between the people and the Irrigation
Department. And finally on behalf of ourselves as well as the people of British India we wish to offer our special thanks to the Hon'ble
Mr. Rose for the manner in which he has tried to assist us in coming to a satisfactory conclusion. 1 would again express our united
thanks and second the vote with great pleasure.
37. The Hon'ble Lala Sukhbir Singh then on behalf of the All India Hindu Sabha expressed satisfaction at the agreement that had been
come to.
38. His Highness the Maharaja of Alwar then said :­
Your Honour and friends, I will not tax your patience on this occasion at any length but I feel that I should be going away from Hardwar
without having performed my duty if! did not add my own sentiments to those which have been already expressed generally by His
Highness the Maharaja of Bikaner at the great pleasure we have had in being associated with our Hindu Brethren in an affair of so much
importance and also in being associated with my old friend Mr. Barlow and the officers of the Public Works Department in the
agreement which has been arrived at. I would also like above all things to add my personal thanks to His Honour, lor the patience and
tact with which he has managed the proceedings as a result of which a. satisfactory conclusion has been arrived at today. The sacredness
of our Mother Ganges is known throughout the world. Our object in assembling here was to advise a solution which would remove the
difficulties that arose with regard to certain works that were started some time ago. There is no doubt that if the reasonability of those
works had been considered before the actual construction was taken in hand, many of the difficulties that we have labored through today
would have been avoided. But the works were started, even before Your Honour's period of office, and therefore it was our duty to come
to a conclusion that would not only be acceptable to the gentlemen present but would satisfy the wants and the feelings of a much wider
area throughout India. With that aim we have taken up Your Honour's time and we have admired your patience and tact, and the
promptitude with which the various complicated and intricate questions have been dealt with by the officers of the Irrigation Department.
It is our ultimate hope that the solutions we have arrived of the various questions at issue will in time justify themselves and satisfy the
public mind as regards the uninterrupted flow of our Mother Ganges past the sacred ghats. This of course is a matter which can only be
proved by time but our hopes at present are that the solutions may be found in keeping with the feelings and religious sentiments of the
general Hindu Public. I have only to thank Your Honour once more for your kindness in inviting us to do our best service for our Mother
Ganges. Our thanks are also due to his Excellency the Viceroy for having been good enough in suggesting and deciding on a Conference
of Princes to be associated with our brethren of British India and we have every hope that the conclusion that Your Honour has read out
will now meet with all requirements. 39. The Conference then dissolved, after the agreement in paragraph 32 above had been signed by
the Hindu representatives present.
Sd. R.
Burn
Chief
Secretary.
94

Copy of a letter No. 2728 /II1-495 Dated Naini Tal, the 26th September 1917, from the Hon'ble Mr. R. Burn, C.S.I., I.C.S., Chief
95

1. I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, dated the 5th, December, 1916, submitting the memorial of the council of the
All India Hindu Sabha regarding the Ganges canal works at Hardwar. The council of the sabha ask the Lieutenant Governor - (a) to
abandon the construction of the regulator, gates, masonry work and other accessories of the canal head works under construction at the
head of the new supply above Har-ki-pairi : (b) to leave an opening of at least 30 feet in the weir at Hardwar which would go down to the
natural bed of the river and to make a similar opening in the weir at Narora.
2. The question whether the works now under construction at Hardwar were likely to reduce the sanctity of that place and of the river
Ganges in the eyes of Hindus was carefully considered by the Lieutenant Governor in 1914. On the 5th November in that year the
Lieutenant Governor visited Hardwar and held a conference attended by His Highness the Maharaja of Jaipur and a number of gentlemen
who were thoroughly representative of Hindu opinion. At that conference three requests were put forward on behalf of the Hindu
community as representing the conditions necessary to secure that the virtue of the Ganges, would not be impaired by the new works- (1)
that a free flow of water should be provided through what is known as the present supply channel No. (i) to the ghats at Hardwar; (2) that
a free flow of water should be passed over the new weir into the main channel of the Ganges which flows towards the sacred places at
Allahabad, Benares and elsewhere; (3) that he channel which leads water to the ghats at Hardwar should not he lined with masonry, so as
to be regarded as a canal.
3. These points were thoroughly discussed both on the site of the works and at the conference, and after consultation with the canal
officers the Lieutenant - Governor announced the following decisions:-
(i) The opening in supply channel No.l was to be left for the present exactly as it is without constructing the regulator which had been
designed. It was, however, pointed out that this might become dangerous and other measures might thus be required, but an undertaken
was given that no steps beyond curtailment of the width and measures to prevent the retrogression of the bed will be taken without prior
consultation with the Hindu community. The Irrigation Department undertook to provide a sufficient supply of water at the Hardwar
ghats for the use of bathers but it was pointed out that the retention of a free opening in this channel would entail a considerable amount
of shoaling as at present which a sluice would prevent and that pending the annual! Clearance of the channel the ghat might for a lime
remain short of water as to present;
(ii) A free opening never to be closed and providing water sufficient for the use of the bathers was to be left in the weir;
(iii) The new supply channel was not to be lined with masonry but would be a natural cut through Laljiwala Island. These decisions were
accepted by the gentlemen attending the conference as a satisfactory settlement of the difficulties of the Hindu community in regard to
the effect of the new works.
4. No question has been raised regarding the first of the conclusions quoted above. But misconceptions appear to have arisen regarding
the meaning of the other two. and I am to state for the information of the sabha what appears to the Lieutenant-Governor to be the clear
meaning of those conclusions as judged by their origin and as understood by the officers of Government and by any one genuinely
desirous of appreciating what was being done to meet the Hindu sentiment and at the same time to provide for the well-being of the great
masses dependent on the efficient service of the canal. As regards the second decision the question as put to the Lieutenant Governor on
the spot was the provision of constant flow of water over the weir sufficient for the use of bathers, which could not be controlled or
stopped by human agency. The intention was that this should be provided by leaving an opening in the shutters which are to be erected
along the crest of the remaining portion of weir. The supply thus left free and uncontrolled would also satisfy the feelings of Hindus
regarding the supply of pure Ganges water to places below Hardwar. The decision was complied with by leaving an opening on the same
level as the rest of the weir at a point where the crest of the weir is actually below the existing bed of the Ganges.
5. The third decision had also been complied with by refraining from lining with masonry the cut through Laljiwala Island opposite the
regulator just above the Har-ki-pairi. The channel thus had a perfectly natural appearance and was actually on the same footing as the
whole channel from Bhimgoda to Mayapur passing the ghat, which as explained in Sir Proby Cautley's report was also excavated.
6. As a fresh settlement has now been reached His Honour does not persue this phase of the question nor does he desire to indulge in
controverting those passages in the memorial, which he can't accept as correct. The Hindu representative, who came to Hardwar on
December the 18th and 19th 1916, specifically disclaimed my suggestion of bad faith by the Government or the Irrigation officers. The
Lieutenant Governor in turn accepts their contention that the purport of the settlement arrived at in 1914 was not precisely understood by
some of them. The necessity for further discussion has been averted by the result of the further conference held by his honour's invitation
at Hardwar in December last. Attached to this letter is a list of the chiefs, officials and private gentlemen, who were present at Hardwar.
It will be seen by a reference to that list that the gathering was thoroughly representative of Hindu opinion. It comprised a number of
ruling chiefs and private gentlemen representative of the Hindu community, including the President and General Secretary of the All
India Hindu Sabha and officials connected with the works. The ruling chiefs are advised by Mr. Egerton Purves, an engineer especially
engaged by them on this behalf, and the Government of India were represented by the Secretary in the Public Works Department. The
discussion of the committee was greatly facilitated by the preparation of a model of the river channel and the works. In addition to the
study of this model which was explained in great deal by the engineers present the members of the conference visited the whole of the
works which had by the reached a stage admitting
of no further misconceptions.
96

7. I am now quote for your information the conclusions which were reached at that discussion:-
(i) In order to guarantee an uninterrupted flow of the Ganges through the Har-ki-pairi and past the other ghats of Hardwar, a
Kachcha bund will be made at the head of channel necessary; a minimum supply of 1,000 cusecs in that channel being
guaranteed, except at period when clearing of the shoaling in channel No.l is in progress; the Irrigation Branch undertaken
that this work shall be carried through as expeditiously as possible in order to ensure a flow from this channel into the Har-ki-
Pairi.
(ii) The opening to supply channel No.l will be left for the present exactly as it is should experience show that this is
dangerous, it may be necessary to curtail the width of the present opening and to take measures to prevent the retrogression
of the bed. But no steps beyond those will be taken without prior consultation with the Hindu community.
(iii) The head of the new supply channel will not be fitted with gates. Some bays contiguous to each other will be completely
closed up with masonry and earth banks; some bays will be completely open. All bays, whether opened or closed, will have a
foot-bridge. The floor on the Hardwar side will be level with the sill and with the bed of the supply channel. The Irrigation
Branch reserves to itself the right of keeping open or closed by masonry as many of the bays as experience from time to time
shows may be necessary for the purpose of feeding the canal which starts as Mayapur and also in the interests of the safety of
the town of Hardwar and the existing canal works, but such bays as are kept open will be completely open as described
above' and whatever bays are closed will be kept completely closed with masonry and earth banks as mentioned above. The
existing grooves will be left in-what is now called the head of the supply channel. The grooves will never be used except in
cases of commending calamity or of actual accident to Hardwar or the existing canal works when it is of vital importance to
close completely the opening by means of wooden planks for a short period.
(iv) A free opening will be left in the weir which will go down to floor level. The opening will be constructed that it will
give, according to the calculations of the Irrigation branch, a minimum discharge of 400 cusecs at the cold weather low level
of the river. For this purpose a record of gauges will be kept by the Irrigation Branch.
(v) At the Mayapur regulator a free opening going down. to the upstream bed level will be made calculated to provide a
permanent flow of 200 cusecs for the service of Kankhal ghats, which after leaving Kankhal will ultimately How into the
Gangas.
8. I am to explain that the understanding quoted above is to be taken as supplementary to the agreement of 1914. This
remains in force in so far as it is consistent with these provisions. I am also to point out that from an engineering point of
view the arrangements are risky in their abrogation of control. The purpose of the gates in the new regulator was to prevent
danger to Hardwar from floods. The absence of gates is also unsatisfactory through the danger of shoaling in the new supply
channel. It is, thus, possible that during monsoon when the river is in flood the use of wooden planks for the purpose of
adequately protecting Hardwar and preventing undue shoaling of the channel may have to be more freely resorted to than is
indicated at the end of paragraph 7 (III) above or that open head of the new channel may have to be replaced by a regulator'
discharged into a channel which will be taken down by a separate route to Mayapur and not allowed to mingle with the
stream flowing past the Hardwar ghats and Government reserves to itself the option of adopting these alternatives in lieu of
the air if agreements detailed in paragraph 7 above, should it in their opinion be considered necessary. This however would
not in any way diminish the accepted liability of Government to provide an adequate supply of water at the ghats measured as
nearly as may be by one thousand cusecs in No. 1 channel.
9. I am to add that question of Narora was expressly left out of consideration at the conference and will be settled later.
Note :
Special
attention
is
drawn
to
para
8
of
the
letter.
COPY OF THE AGREEMENT OF 5TH NOVEMBER, 1914 HARDWAR
1. The opening of supply channel No. 1 will be left for the present exactly as it is, should experience show that this is
dangerous, it may be necessary to curtail the width of the present opening and to take measures to prevent the retrogression
of the bed.
2. But no steps beyond those will be taken without prior consultation with the Hindu community. The Irrigation Department
will undertake that sufficient supply of water will be provided at the Hardwar ghats for the use of bathers. It must be born in
mind that the retention of the free opening in supply channel No.l, will entail a considerable amount of shoaling as at present,
which a sluice would prevent. It will. Therefore, have to be under stood that it will, pending the annual clearance, for a time
remain short of water as at present.
3. A free opening, which will never be closed and which will provide water sufficient for the use of bathers, will be left in the
weir. According to the calculations of the Engineers this will mean a constant unfettered flow of water al all seasons of the
year.
4.
The new supply channel will not be lined with masonry. It will be a natural cut through Laljiwala Island. It is not expected
that any extension of the lining of the supply channel No.l will be necessary there will not be either the name or the
appearance of a canal in either of the channels which feed the Hardwar
97

Appendix 9 : M.C. Mehta Case on Polluting Tanneries (1987)
Supreme Court of India
M.C. Mehta vs Union Of India Ors on 12 January, 1988
Equivalent citations: 1988 AIR 1115, 1988 SCR (2) 530
Author: E Venkataramiah
Bench: Venkataramiah, E.S. (J)
PETITIONER:
M.C. MEHTA
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
UNION OF INDIA ORS. DATE OF JUDGMENT12/01/1988
BENCH:
VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J) BENCH:
VENKATARAMIAH, E.S. (J)
SINGH, K.N. (J)
CITATION:
1988 AIR 1115 1988 SCR (2) 530
1988 SCC (1) 471 JT 1988 (1) 69
ACT: In re. control, prevention and abatement of pollution of Ganga water-
In Kanpur, U.P.-Responsibility of the municipal body in respect thereof.
HEADNOTE:
%
This Court in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India ors., [1987] 4 S.C.C. 463
had issued certain directions with regard to the industries in which the
business of tanning was being carried on near Kanpur on the banks of the River
Ganga. On that occasion, the Court had directed that the case in respect of the
municipal bodies and the industries which were responsible for the pollution of the
water in the river Ganga would be taken up next, and accordingly, the Court took
up for consideration this case against the Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika, since it was
found that Kanpur was one of the biggest cities on the banks of the river Ganga.
Under the laws governing the local bodies, the nagar Mahapalikas and Municipal
Boards were primarily responsible for the maintenance of cleanliness in the areas
under their jurisdiction and the protection of their environments. Under the water
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act , 1974 (the 'Water Act') provisions
had been made for the establishment of Boards for the prevention and control
of water pollution, etc. The Environment (Protection) Act , 1986, contained
provisions relating to the control, prevention and abatement of pollution of
water. Although Parliament and the State Legislature had thus enacted laws,
imposing duties on the Central and State Boards and the municipalities for the
prevention and control of pollution of water, no adequate action had been taken
pursuant to many of their provisions. 274.50 million litres a day of sewage water
was being discharged into the river Ganga from the city of Kanpur, which was the
98

highest in the State of U.P. Sewer cleaning had never been done
systematically in Kanpur, and there was mal-functioning and choking of the city
sewerage. Pollution of water in the river Ganga was of the highest degree at
Kanpur, and a large extent of misery, sickness and death due to infectious
diseases arose out of water supplies. The petitioner filed this writ petition as
a Public Interest Litigation against the public nuisance 531 caused by the serious
pollution of the river Ganga, for protecting the lives of the people using the
Ganga water. Disposing of the petition, the Court,
^ HELD: The petitioner before the Court was no doubt not a riparian owner. He
was a person interested in protecting the lives of the people who made use of the
water flowing in the river Ganga and his right to maintain the petition could not be
disputed. The nuisance caused by the pollution was a public nuisance, wide-spread in
range and indiscriminate in its effect, and it would not be reasonable to expect
any particular person to take proceedings to stop it as distinct from the community
at large. The petition was entertained as a Public Interest Litigation. On the
facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Court was of the view that the
petitioner was entitled to move the Court in order to enforce the statutory
provisions which imposed duties on the municipal authorities and the Boards under the
water Act, on account of failure of which to obey the statutory duties for several
years, the water in the River Ganga at Kanpur had become so much polluted that
it could no longer be used by the people for drinking or bathing. The Nagar
Mahapalika of Kanpur had to bear the major responsibility for the pollution
of the river near the Kanpur city. The construction of certain works,
undertaken under the Ganga Action Plan at Kanpur to improve the sewerage system
and prevent pollution of the water in the river Ganga, were going on at a
snail's pace. The Court expected the authorities concerned would complete those
works within the target dates mentioned in their counter-affidavits. The Court
noticed that the Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika had not yet submitted its proposals for
sewage treatment works to the
State
Board
constituted
under
Water Act, and directed that the mahapalika
should submit its proposals to the State Board within six months (from the
date of this judgment).
[551H; 552A-F]
The Court further directed; (i) The Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika should take
action under the provisions of the Uttar Pradesh Nagar Mahapalika Adhiniyam, 1959,
or the relevant bye-laws made thereunder to prevent pollution of the water in the
river Ganga by waste accumulated at the large number of dairies in Kanpur having
about 80,000 cattle. The dairies might either be shifted outside the city so
that the waste at the dairies did not ultimately reach the river Ganga, or, in
the alternative, the Mahapalika might arrange for the removal of the waste by motor
vehicles, in which 532 event the owners of the diaries could not claim any
compensation. The Mahapalika should immediately take action to prevent collection
of manure at private manure pits inside the city; [552G-H; 553A] (ii) The
Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika should take immediate steps to increase the size of the
sewers in the labour colonies, so 13 that sewage might be carried smoothly
through the sewerage system, and wherever sewerage line was not yet constructed,
steps should be taken to lay it; [553B] (iii) Immediate action should also be
taken by the Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika to construct sufficient number of public
latrines and urinals to prevent defecation by people on the open land. The proposal
to levy any charge for use of such latrines and urinals shall be dropped as that
would be a reason for poor people not to use the public latrines and urinals. The
cost of maintenance of cleanliness of those latrines and urinals had to be
borne by the Mahapalika. [553C] The Court was of the view that since the
problem of pollution of the water in the river Ganga had become very acute, the
High Court should not ordinarily grant stay of criminal proceedings in cases
where the Board constituted under the Water Act initiated any proceedings to
prosecute industrialists or other persons who polluted the water in the Ganga, as
the stay orders on petitions under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1973, frustrated the attempt of the Board to enforce the provisions of the Water
Act, and further, even if such an order of stay was made in any extraordinary case,
the High Court should dispose of the case within a short period, say about two
months from the date of the institution of the case, and further, should take up
for hearing all the cases where such orders had been issued under section P 482,
99

Cr.P.C., staying prosecutions under the Water Act. [553E-G] The Court
further directed that the practice of throwing corpses and semi-burnt corpses
into the river Ganga should be immediately brought to an end. Steps should be
taken by the Kanpur Nagar Mahapalika and the police authorities to ensure
that the dead bodies or G- half-burnt bodies were not thrown into the river Ganga.
[553H; 554A] In future j application for licences to establish new industries
should be refused unless adequate provision had been made for the treatment of
trade effluents flowing out of the factories, and immediate action should be
taken against the existing industries found responsible for the pollution of
water. [554B] 533
Having regard to the grave consequences of the Pollution of water and
air and need for protecting and improving the natural environment, considered
to be one of the fundamental duties under the Constitution, it was the duty of the
Central Government to direct all the educational institutions throughout India to
teach at least for one hour in a week lessons on the protection and improvement of
the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life in the
first ten classes. The Central Government should get the text books written for the
said purpose and distributed to the educational institutions free of cost.
Training of teachers, who teach this subject, by the introduction of short
term courses for such training shall also be considered. This should be done
throughout India. [554C-E] The above directions of the Court would apply
mutatis mutandis to all the other Mahapalikas and Municipalities, having
jurisdiction over the areas through which the river Ganga flows.[555C]
Source : (Venkataramiah, 1988)
100

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Title: River Pollution Abatement to Achieve Water Security. Issues, Challenges and Progress of Ganga Action Plan and Namami Gange Mission towards River Ganga Pollution Abatement in India
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