About:

• The government is simply focusing on Swachh Ganga (Clean Ganga) and has missed to aim for uninterrupted flow and unpolluted flow.
• The whole focus of the Clean Ganga project has been on setting up sewage treatments plants and cleaning ghats and banks. However, the main issue, which is that the river does not have adequate flow of water, has been ignored.
• In other words, river Ganga’s uninterrupted flow is as important as making the river pollution free if the Ganga rejuvenation drive has to show desired results.

Major concerns: Fragile region

River Ganga is becoming increasingly fragile with severe pollution destroying the river, and more and more developmental projects (especially hydropower and irrigation projects) critically affecting its flow.

• Several hydropower projects are mushrooming at the source of the river, which is the Garhwal range of the Himalayas.
• Unlike other ranges, the Garhwal is narrow. It is from here that many rivers and tributaries of the Ganga basin emerge. These spring- or glacier-fed rivers join one another at different points to form an intricate riverine ecosystem in the Himalayas.
• The entire basin falls in the seismic zone 4-5, and is highly prone to landslides and land subsidence.

How developmental activities such as construction of hydropower projects affect the riverine ecosystem?

• As said earlier, several hydropower projects are mushrooming at the source of the river.
• To construct a hydropower project, large sections of land are cleared of forests. Deforestation is taking place in an already fragile mountain area.
• Impacts – loss of agriculture, drying of water sources as the water is diverted into tunnels, landslips, severe distress to aquatic life and the river bed is no longer even wet in certain stretches.
• The irony is that even after all this devastation, electricity is not generated as per the intended capacity.
• This is because there is too much silt and flow of debris during the monsoon and reduced flow of water in winters. And as glaciers continue to retreat, the silt in the rivers is only going to increase.
• Therefore, the flow of debris and silt was stopped by barrages constructed around these hydropower projects. (This also escalates the impact of disaster. For ex, 2013 disaster)
• As the reason for diminished output is natural and not technical, and therefore cannot be remedied, this is only going to cause more problems for future projects.
• In the case of the Ganga, these projects also prevent sediments from going downstream. This affects the fertility of the delta downstream and also destroys the unique self-purifying properties of the Ganga.

Reports of committees

• Twenty government committees and reports warn about the anthropogenic activities in these fragile areas and recommend conservation of these areas for food and water security.
• When the late G.D. Agarwal, crusader of the Ganga, fasted to invoke the government to act against these projects, the government proposed an e-flow notification for the Upper Ganga River Basin.
• It specified that during the dry season (November-March), 20% of monthly average flow has to be maintained, and during the monsoon season, 30% has to be maintained.
• The notification stated that existing hydel projects that do not meet e-flow norms must comply within three years.
• The 20% recommendation is less than the scientific recommendation of 50%.
• Also the E-flow implementation process is dubious.

Conclusion

• If the government intends to rejuvenate the river, it should have specified that 20% e-flows norms are only for existing projects, rather than extending it to several such new projects.
• Also the understanding that hydropower projects mean development needs to change.
• What is required is a credible roadmap to clean the Ganga and restore its flow.