Water Pollution in River Ganga

This project discusses the water pollution issues in River Ganga and proposes the "National River Ganga (Rejuvenation Protection and Maintenance) Bill Act 2017" as a solution. It explores the recommended solution, implementation process, stakeholder engagement, and the importance of infrastructure.

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Executive summary
The main purpose of this project was to identify a possible solution to the water quality problems
of the Ganga River. This issue has been visited so many times in the past; however, failed
largely. It is still contaminated with harmful substances and heavy metals like mercury and lead.
This paper proposes legislation the “National River Ganga (Rejuvenation Protection and
Maintenance) Bill Act 2017” as the solution to restore the water quality of the river. The solution
has various stakeholders supporting the implementation. The stakeholders are the NGOs, various
groups and associations, the Armed Ganga Protection Corps (GPC) and a management structure
to supervise and ensure the health of the Ganga River. The critical success factors (CSFs) for this
project are the stakeholders’ engagement and infrastructural development to govern the cleaning
of the river.

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. Recommended Solution...............................................................................................................3
3. Implementation............................................................................................................................5
3.1 Stakeholder engagement............................................................................................................6
4. Conclusion...................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................9

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1. Introduction
Water resources significantly provide sustenance to ecological as well as environmental
integrity. It helps to preserve life forms that exist on this earth. Amongst the various water
resources rivers provide greater maintenance of environmental cohesiveness. In the rivers,
Ganges is widely popular for various reasons. It is considered holy by Hindus. It houses 40% of
the entire population of the country (Pokharia et al., 2017). In the Indian subcontinent, Ganga is
one of the largest river (Pokharia et al., 2017). Despite being important for so many reasons the
water quality of Ganga is problematic. It has deteriorated severely. Many studies in the past have
shown the presence of toxic metal components in huge quantity (MOHANTY et al., 2017).
There could be many reasons that affect water quality so badly. However, the root cause of such
a state is industrial waste, which is directly thrown in the river. Additionally, there is no set
quantity for such industrial waste (Dubey & Dubey, 2016). The industrial waste mainly contains
heavy metals like Mercury and Lead. Consumption of such water, which is contaminated with
heavy metals causes neurological disorder as well as cancer. There have been several reports on
the liver, breast, intestinal and throat cancer in the Western Uttar Pradesh. Apart from industrial
waste, the holistic approach of people towards the river is another major reason for the problem.
The debris of Puja in the name of rituals are thrown into the river. On the other hand, the
countering efforts from the state and public governments, and organisations have so far failed to
restore the quality of the water. Failed drainage and abundant sewage are also being dumped into
the river (Tiwari, Mayank & Dwivedi, 2017).
2. Recommended Solution
Ganga being such a large river requires committed support from the various stakeholders
who can make a difference to it. Years of mistreatment and unsustainable counteracts have made

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Ganga River one of the world’s most polluted river. The Himalayas from which the Ganga
originates has become one of the most unlivable ecosystems. For many years, governments and
local organisations have already invested billions of rupees in identifying ways to restore the lost
quality; however, they have all failed. Forget about the repairmen millions are still mistreating
the river. They use it as a public drainage system where they dump in waste of all kinds. Due to
such mistreatments and ineffective counteracts from various stakeholders have resulted in parts
completely drying up. Many of these have become harmful and toxic to the environment as well
as humans (Paul, 2017).
The problem, which is yet untreated has now civil society calling for a legal framework
so as to provide recognition to the rights of the Ganga River Basin. There is a necessity of a new
move, which offers broader engagement of stakeholders in the problem repairing process.
Moreover, there is a need for a move, which is very productive as well. Hence, the
recommended solution to restore the lost water quality of Ganga River is a new Act, which is in
the final stage. If the bill is successfully approved Ganga will become the first ever river in the
Indian Subcontinent to be protected by an Act of parliament. In April 2017, a draft was
submitted for proposing a new piece of legislation to the Water Resources ministry, Ganga
Rejuvenation Uma Bharti and River Development. The legislation is the “National River Ganga
(Rejuvenation Protection and Maintenance) Bill Act 2017” (Insightsonindia.com, 2019).
This bill on a broader aspect will mainly ensure cleaning and rejuvenating of the river.
This Act could provide solutions to the poor water quality of the Ganga River in a range of ways.
One of the fundamental solution that the Act will provide is establishing the rights for the River,
the rights of the environment and the people. This will establish a mechanism to protect the
rivers' rights. Moreover, this will also empower people, civil society, communities and

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governments to be able to defend the basin’s rights (Insightsonindia.com, 2019). Few areas
marked by this Bill have been identified as offences. These are listed as under
(Insightsonindia.com, 2019):
 Construction activities that cause an obstruction in the river
 Withdrawal of groundwater from the land that fronts the river and its tributaries for the
purpose of industrial or commercial consumption
 Fishing for the commercial purposes in the river and its tributaries
 Discharging both untreated or treated sewage into the Ganga
3. Implementation
The “National River Ganga (Rejuvenation Protection and Maintenance) Bill Act 2017” is
the first of its kind for protecting a diminishing image of a river. The stakeholders who will
mostly be engaged in the implementation process are (Insightsonindia.com, 2019):
 The NGOs
 A management structure
 Various groups and associations
 The Armed Ganga Protection Corps (GPC)
The implementation process will aim some of the major infrastructural gaps in cities that are
based along the Ganga’s mainstream. Investments will be needed to primarily address a few
problems like untreated domestic sewage from cities and towns that are based along the river.
This includes but not limited to like Haridwar, Allahabad, Rishikesh, Kanpur, Kolkata and Patna.
This will also include towns that are based along the critically polluted stretch in Uttar Pradesh.
Moreover, there is a need to install a new sewage treatment capacity and new sewage networks.

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Based on a recent report, a new sewage treatment capacity will be of over 300 MLD and new
sewage networks of over 2,000 km (Worldbank.org, 2019). The report also suggests that this
new wastewater investment will be developed in an innovative way to prevent it from failing as
it happened to many previous projects. This will be developed in the PPP mode. 10-year Design-
Build-Operate (DBO) contracts will ensure no failure from the private operator in maintaining
the infrastructure. Meanwhile, during this period, there will be efforts given to enhance the
technical and financial capacity of the ULB service providers (Worldbank.org, 2019).
An appropriate implementation also requires a system to monitor the water quality of the
river, things that did not click in the past (Paul, 2017). As per some reports, a close to 30 stations
will be installed for monitoring the water quality in real-time. It is expected that these stations
will deliver reliable water quality data. The Central Pollution Control Board will manage these
processes (Worldbank.org, 2019).
The implementation process will remain half-done until being supported by a knowledge
center to conduct the research works and to generate an adequate amount of supportive data
(Günther, 2016). As per a few reports, the Ganga Knowledge Center, which is an internationally-
recognized research institute has been set up. This knowledge center will concern every aspect of
the Ganga River. It is still in the operational stage. Some of the functions of the Ganga
Knowledge Center includes conducting targeted research and modeling to facilitate decision-
making in basin-scale, disseminating knowledge, by means of a high-quality web portal and
mapping the entire basin with the help of a GIS-based mapping system (Worldbank.org, 2019).
3.1 Stakeholder engagement

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This section highlights the role of various stakeholders in cleaning the Ganga River and
in executing the “National River Ganga (Rejuvenation Protection and Maintenance) Bill Act
2017”. The role of a few stakeholders in implementing this Act will be highly needed. These are:
 The NGOs: They can utilise funds raised through donations in providing services to
society through sustainable system development and much more (Bendell, 2017).
 Various groups and associations: The operational wing of the NGRBA and the
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) are being set up to coordinate the rivers’
clean-up program (Worldbank.org, 2019). These groups should have adequate knowledge
of how to perform their expected duties. Moreover, they should also be armed with the
resources needed to execute their roles. They will need funds and adequate knowledge of
processes to be followed to clean the Ganga. In addition to these groups, State Program
Management Groups (SPMGs) have already been established concerning the five
mainstream states. The required funds will be received from various resources like
multiple executing agencies, some Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and parastatal
organisations. Parastatal organisations include the Bihar Urban Infrastructure
Development Corporation, Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and Kolkata Metropolitan
Development Authority.
 A management structure: They will supervise the health of the Ganga River. The river
is as defined by the draft Bill is the “India’s national river” (Insightsonindia.com, 2019).
 The Armed Ganga Protection Corps (GPC): This personnel will be developed and
provided by the ministry of home affairs. The National Ganga Rejuvenation Authority
will deploy this personnel. The GPC will be provided with power and resources to arrest
those who are found polluting the river. However, they will arrest those only who will be

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found as committing the offences as mentioned under the heading “Recommended
Solution” (Insightsonindia.com, 2019).
4. Conclusion
To conclude, it can be said that the “National River Ganga (Rejuvenation Protection and
Maintenance) Bill Act 2017” could be the savior to the Ganga River provided it finds the
expected stakeholders’ engagement and has an infrastructure that does not fail. The policy should
be impactful in treating the water quality of the Ganga as it brings everything from infrastructure
and investment to stakeholders at one place in a well-guided manner.

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References
Bendell, J. (2017). Terms for endearment: Business, NGOs and sustainable development.
Routledge.
Dubey, R. S., & Dubey, A. R. (2016). Comparative Effects of Idols Immersion on the Quality of
Flowing Holy Ganga Water and Stagnant Water of Ganga Sarovar: A Case Study at
Varanasi. International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Technology, 5(1), 1-9.
Günther, K. (2016). Key Factors for Successful Implementation of a Sustainability Strategy.
Journal of Applied Leadership and Management, 4, 1-20.
Insightsonindia.com. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.insightsonindia.com/2019/02/05/draft-
national-river-ganga-bill-2018/
MOHANTY, B. P., GANGULY, S., MAHANTY, A., MITRA, T., PARIA, P., BEHERA, B. K.,
& DAS, B. K. (2017). ESTIMATION OF ARSENIC AND MERCURY IN FISHES
FROM RIVER GANGA FOR RIVERINE ECOSYSTEM HEALTH BIOMONITORING
AND ASSESSMENT. JOURNAL OF THE INLAND FISHERIES SOCIETY OF INDIA,
49(1), 46.
Paul, D. (2017). Research on heavy metal pollution of river Ganga: A review. Annals of
Agrarian Science, 15(2), 278-286.
Pokharia, A. K., Sharma, S., Tripathi, D., Mishra, N., Pal, J. N., Vinay, R., & Srivastava, A.
(2017). Neolithic− Early historic (2500–200 BC) plant use: The archaeobotany of Ganga
Plain, India. Quaternary International, 443, 223-237.
Singh, D. S. (Ed.). (2017). The Indian Rivers: Scientific and Socio-economic Aspects. Springer.

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Tiwari, A., Mayank, P., & Dwivedi, A. C. (2017). Assessment of human health risk via the
consumption of the freshwater fish, Cyprinus carpio and Oreochromis niloticus from the
Ganga River, India. Bioved, 28, 341-34.
Worldbank.org (2019). The National Ganga River Basin Project. [online] World Bank.
Available at: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/03/23/india-the-national-
ganga-river-basin-project [Accessed 12 May 2019].