For Ganga clean-up by 2020, complianc of 33 laws a must (Time of India 25 December 2010)

NEW DELHI: Promise of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, to make Ganga water pristine by 2020 appears to be enmeshed in a number of environmental and labour related laws, 33 to be precise. The stress on meeting the mandate of these laws appears to have been driven by the safeguard policies of World Bank, which has promised an assistance of $1 billion for the first phase of the project. The National River Conservation Directorate under ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) had said in its affidavit to the Supreme Court, "An assistance of $1 billion has been indicated in the first phase by World Bank. A project preparation facility advance of $2.96 million has been sanctioned by WB." NGRBA's seriousness to live up to its promise before the apex court two months ago is reflected in the latest affidavit filed by MoEF, which said, "Initial portfolio of the project worth around Rs 1,400 crore has been approved for development of sewer networks, sewage treatment plants, sewage pumping stations, electric crematorium, community toilets, development of river fronts etc, in the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal." But these works had to get clearance under many of the 33 laws listed as applicable for every project under NGRBA. While 15 of them pertained to laws relating to environment, land acquisition, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), pollution prevention and control, regulation of mining activities and ancient monument and archaeological sites and remains, the other 18 laws related to payment of proper wages and prevention of exploitation of labour to be engaged in the projects