Monday, January 10, 2011
Rules flouted but temple to stay: Ramesh (Times of India 08 January 2011)
NEW DELHI: While claiming that Akshardham Temple should not have been given clearance on environmental grounds, Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh drew attention to the fact that the temple was built during the NDA regime and had not even sought the mandatory green clearance from the ministry. At the time this happened, many environmental activists had criticized the NDA government. And when the UPA government came to power, it cleared the construction of the Commonwealth Games village on the river bed, ironically, citing the temple as precedent. This was challenged in court and the Supreme Court, too, cleared the village project. Ramesh said: ''We can't demolish the Commonwealth Games village, we can't demolish the Akshardham complex. We have to protect the remaining river bed.'' He added that he was considering a River Regulation Zone notification along the lines of the Coastal Regulation Zone. ''The manner in which the Yamuna river belt has been devastated by construction should be a wake-up call to all of us,'' he said. Ramesh's stand that he was not going to re-open old cases is in contrast to his position on other controversial cases such as Lavasa and Adarsh where he has weighed in to re-investigate years' old cases.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Activists hope minister will stop Yamuna abuse (Times of India 08 January 2011)
AN ECO CONCERN No clearance from environment ministry was required when construction on Akshardham Temple started in 2000
Greens Rejoice As Jairam Decries Construction Of Structures On Riverbed New Delhi: Environment minister Jairam Ramesh might have opened Pandoras Box with his comments on the Akshardham Temple and Commonwealth Games Village, but his comments highlight the malaise that runs deep within our system. The ministers remarks on Friday,that the two structures should not have been built on the Yamuna riverbed,have made the environmentalists happy.They have appreciated the fact that the minister has finally acknowledged these problems in the open,and they hope he will take steps to ensure that such blatant encroachment of the citys natural resources does not take place again.One of the main issues that they hope the minister will now look into is the Millennium bus depot that came up as a temporary structure on the riverbed and which now the Delhi government is refusing to let go off. The Akshardham Temple, construction for which started in 2000, did not then require clearance from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).An amendment to the Environment Impact Assessment Notification of 1994 was made in 2004,which finally brought such construction activities within its purview. Construction on the temple started in 2000 after land was acquired from the DDA and UP Irrigation department.In 2003, UP State Employees Association went to the SC,challenging the construction on grounds of environment violations;but the court rejected the petition since petitioners could not rebut DDAs claims of ownership of land.However,an embankment was created to ensure that loopholes in the system were also plugged, said Manoj Misra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan (YJA). By the time construction for the Commonwealth Games Village started,there were several checks in place to ensure that no violation of environment norms took place.However,in a remarkable case of flip-flops,several agencies concerned gave their final nod to the project after having initially opposed it.In the initial phase of construction,YJA filed RTIs that revealed that of the five clearances DDA claimed it had acquired,three agencies had not said yes. DDA had earlier commissioned two studies: the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI),in its study,said construction should not take place on the riverbed,while MoEF raised questions on the study findings by Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS). The Yamuna Standing Committee stated in a July 2007 RTI response that no specific permission was accorded to DDA for raising permanent residential multistorey flats... in the flood plain of river Yamuna. Central Ground Water Authority,which notified the Yamuna flood plain in September 2006,said in its RTI response : no permission for construction of any borewell /tube-well has been accorded by CGWA for this purpose.Eventually,DDA managed to get even MoEF on board,while all other agencies gave their explicit nod to the village. In early 2010,the Delhi High Court acted on a PIL and formed a committee to look into the legal aspects of the village;however,DDA finally won the day after it appealed to the SC against the HC order,claiming that the embankment made for the Akshardham Temple would hold good for the Games village,and by definition,both were not in the flood plain. In a bid to stop any more unauthorized constructions on the riverbed, the L-G passed a moratorium on further construction on the Yamuna riverbed in early 2008,bringing an early end to several projects that had been planned and some that were already underway.The only exceptions were the Metro depot and the Games Village. Six months down the line,DDA also classified the riverbed as zone O in its master plan,the objective of which was to augment water supply,contain pollution and have eco-friendly green development.Nevertheless,construction on the riverbed has been going on unchecked,with most of them being government or state supported projects.Environmentalists have been asking for the riverbed to be notified to give it legal sanctity;the government has been dragging its feet over the issue.
Greens Rejoice As Jairam Decries Construction Of Structures On Riverbed New Delhi: Environment minister Jairam Ramesh might have opened Pandoras Box with his comments on the Akshardham Temple and Commonwealth Games Village, but his comments highlight the malaise that runs deep within our system. The ministers remarks on Friday,that the two structures should not have been built on the Yamuna riverbed,have made the environmentalists happy.They have appreciated the fact that the minister has finally acknowledged these problems in the open,and they hope he will take steps to ensure that such blatant encroachment of the citys natural resources does not take place again.One of the main issues that they hope the minister will now look into is the Millennium bus depot that came up as a temporary structure on the riverbed and which now the Delhi government is refusing to let go off. The Akshardham Temple, construction for which started in 2000, did not then require clearance from the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF).An amendment to the Environment Impact Assessment Notification of 1994 was made in 2004,which finally brought such construction activities within its purview. Construction on the temple started in 2000 after land was acquired from the DDA and UP Irrigation department.In 2003, UP State Employees Association went to the SC,challenging the construction on grounds of environment violations;but the court rejected the petition since petitioners could not rebut DDAs claims of ownership of land.However,an embankment was created to ensure that loopholes in the system were also plugged, said Manoj Misra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan (YJA). By the time construction for the Commonwealth Games Village started,there were several checks in place to ensure that no violation of environment norms took place.However,in a remarkable case of flip-flops,several agencies concerned gave their final nod to the project after having initially opposed it.In the initial phase of construction,YJA filed RTIs that revealed that of the five clearances DDA claimed it had acquired,three agencies had not said yes. DDA had earlier commissioned two studies: the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI),in its study,said construction should not take place on the riverbed,while MoEF raised questions on the study findings by Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS). The Yamuna Standing Committee stated in a July 2007 RTI response that no specific permission was accorded to DDA for raising permanent residential multistorey flats... in the flood plain of river Yamuna. Central Ground Water Authority,which notified the Yamuna flood plain in September 2006,said in its RTI response : no permission for construction of any borewell /tube-well has been accorded by CGWA for this purpose.Eventually,DDA managed to get even MoEF on board,while all other agencies gave their explicit nod to the village. In early 2010,the Delhi High Court acted on a PIL and formed a committee to look into the legal aspects of the village;however,DDA finally won the day after it appealed to the SC against the HC order,claiming that the embankment made for the Akshardham Temple would hold good for the Games village,and by definition,both were not in the flood plain. In a bid to stop any more unauthorized constructions on the riverbed, the L-G passed a moratorium on further construction on the Yamuna riverbed in early 2008,bringing an early end to several projects that had been planned and some that were already underway.The only exceptions were the Metro depot and the Games Village. Six months down the line,DDA also classified the riverbed as zone O in its master plan,the objective of which was to augment water supply,contain pollution and have eco-friendly green development.Nevertheless,construction on the riverbed has been going on unchecked,with most of them being government or state supported projects.Environmentalists have been asking for the riverbed to be notified to give it legal sanctity;the government has been dragging its feet over the issue.
Akshardham, Village shouldnt have got green nod: Jairam (Times of India 08 January 2011)
New Delhi: Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh set the cat among the pigeons on Friday when he said the Akshardham Temple,a project dear to BJP leader L K Advani,and the Commonwealth Games Village should not have been given environmental clearance as they have come up on the Yamuna river bed.This, however, doesnt mean that he wants these sprawling structures to be torn down,he hastened to add.But by pointing out that they have violated green norms,Ramesh has implied that previous regimes have been lax towards environment standards.And this could get some hackles up.If your question is whether the Games Village got environmental clearance, the answer is yes.Should it have I dont think so, he said during a news conference called to announce the new CRZ norms.
RED TAPE UP, WATER TABLE DOWN (Times of India 08 January 2011)
In spite of a looming water crisis, the Delhi government and the various civic agencies are still to get their act together.NEHA LALCHANDANI writes The rapid pace of urbanization is putting immense pressure on the countrys natural resources and one of the first things to run out in the next few decades will be the most basic requirement for civilization water.Delhi is already facing a massive shortage of this precious,and fast depleting,natural resource and the state government and various civic agencies are having to put in place strict controls to deal with the groundwater depletion.Delhis population is growing at a rapid clip with the increasing pace of urbanization and the economic growth bringing in a phenomenal migratory population every day.Since its water resources are limited,supply to several parts has been reduced to once a day while large areas are yet to even get a basic connection.The easiest way to deal with at least part of the problem is to ensure conservation and preservation of groundwater resources,a major component of which is rainwater harvesting.The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has projected a demand of 1,100 million gallons per day (MGD) of water by 2011 whereas the supply has been estimated at only 880 MGD.The Yamuna has no additional water to meet this demand in fact,the Yamuna does not have the capacity to meet even current demand.As several parts of the city,especially the unauthorized areas,are not getting any Delhi Jal Board (DJB) supply,they are dependent almost entirely on groundwater resources.Predictably,this has led to a massive decline in the water table in all parts of the city.In 2001,while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Vinod Jain,director of an NGO Tapas,the Delhi high court asked the government to consider making rainwater harvesting compulsory in the city.By July 01,the government made this compulsory for all constructions coming up on a plot size of 100 square metres or more.In 2004,under a fresh petition,rainwater harvesting was made compulsory even for flyovers that were less than 8 metre in height.Now,10 years down the line,poor and inept implementation and monitoring of the system has killed off the programme the exceptions being in fresh developments,which are primarily riding on increased public awareness and the current brouhaha over climate change.
QUICK BITES IN JULY 2001,AFTER A HIGH COURT DIRECTIVE,THE DELHI GOVERNMENT MADE IT COMPULSORY FOR ALL CONSTRUCTIONS COMING UP ON A PLOT SIZE OF 100 SQUARE METRES OR MORE TO INSTALL RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS.NOW,10 YEARS DOWN THE LINE,POOR AND INEPT IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING OF THE SYSTEM HAS KILLED OFF THE PROGRAMME
Continued
The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has directed through public notices issued between March 2001 and August 2004 to group-housing societies, institutions,schools,hotels,industrial establishments,farmhouses in South and Southwest districts and grouphousing societies located outside notified areas of the NCT of Delhi to adopt rooftop rainwater harvesting systems in their premises.The ministry of urban development & poverty alleviation (Delhi division) has also made it mandatory under modifications to its building bylaws of 1983 that water harvesting through storing of water runoffs including rainwater in all new building on plots of 100 square metres and above will be mandatory.All buildings having a minimum discharge of 10,000 litres and above per day shall incorporate wastewater recycling system.The recycled water should be used for horticultural purposes".There are those who say that rainwater harvesting is highly cost intensive and they would not be able to derive any direct benefits from it,there are several examples in the country that can prove them wrong.Chennai has had an almost 100% success rate with rainwater harvesting,and so has Bangalore.In these cities,non-compliance of rainwater regulations invites a heavy penalty and the governments,serious about implementing the project,ensured that they had a proper monitoring system in place.Rainwater harvesting was made mandatory for all buildings in Chennai in 2002,and interestingly,almost everyone complied even though the government refused to provide any subsidy for its implementation.The push came from the governments directive that noncompliance of the law would result in a heavy penalty.The government ordered water supply to be cut to those buildings where rainwater harvesting was not carried out.In some places,electric supply was also cut off if residents or owners offered too much resistance.Sekar Raghavan,director of Rain Centre in Chennai,said that results of large-scale water harvesting had become evident by January 2006.In a survey carried out then,it was found that wells that had been dry for over 30 years started getting replenished.After the 2005 monsoon,we saw immediate results.Groundwater levels went up by as much as 6-8 metres in several areas, he said.Bangalore,whose water comes from the Cauvery river nearly 100km away from the city,depended on groundwater for 40% of its water demand,which led to a sharp fall in the water table here.Finally,rainwater harvesting was made compulsory in the city in August 2009 and several households and commercial buildings have either got the rainwater harvesting system or are in the process of getting them installed.P B Ramamurthy,chairman of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB),says that rainwater harvesting became mandatory by an amendment to the BWSSB Act in 2009 and the city was given nine months,with a deadline of May 2010,to ensure that all new buildings on a plot of 30 ft x 40 ft or above and existing buildings on a plot of 60 ft x 40 ft or above had set up rainwater harvesting structures.Jyoti Sharma,director of Forum of Resource Conservation and Enhancement (FORCE),who has been actively engaged with the government and residents to promote rainwater harvesting,says: In Delhi,getting permission for rainwater harvesting structures is the biggest problem due to multiplicity of agencies.Even though the process sounds easy enough,getting the system installed in a place right now is no joke,to the extent that in several cases people chose to pay money and get a completion certificate from the civic agency rather than run around.If the government seems tardy on this,only residential buildings and houses adopting rainwater harvesting can make a difference in the water availability for the city. Simple recharge structures cost between Rs 2,000 and Rs 30,000.However,if a lot of drilling is required along with a tube well,then the cost goes up substantially.Where there is a hard rocky terrain,drilling itself can cost about Rs 30,000.If one is living in East Delhi,they would only require a storage pit and not a recharge structure since the groundwater levels there are still high, says Sushmita Sengupta,research associate at Centre for Science and Environment.In Delhi,if one wants to avail of government financial help for rainwater harvesting,they need to get their plans approved either by the CGWA or the DJB.The CGWA also makes plans and clears the boring of tube wells,but on a highly selective basis as DJB has taken over groundwater management in the city.DJB on the other hand can sanction rainwater harvesting plans but cannot permit a tube well unless an advisory committee,headed by the concerned areas DC,doesn't give permission.The Delhi government also has schemes like My Delhi,I Care and parks and garden societies,which make the interface between individuals,communities and the government slightly easier.Steps for financial assistance for rainwater harvesting Collect authentic data on site for rainwater harvesting,type of soil,drainage system and rainwater to be harvested Get a plan drawn on the recharge scheme with technical design.This can be done by the central groundwater board,an architect or by the rainwater harvesting cell of DJB.Plans not prepared by CGWB (Central Ground Water Board) would have to be verified by it Get in touch with an agency for execution of the project.A list of approved agencies is available with CGWB.The agency will prepare an estimate of the work and expenditure The detailed estimate has to be submitted to DJB through the zonal engineer or the rainwater harvesting cells executive engineer for approval of financial assistance Get work executed Apply to the executive engineer of DJBs rainwater harvesting cell along with completion certificate,payment details and maintenance agreement for release of financial assistance QUICK BITES CHENNAI HAS HAD AN ALMOST 100% SUCCESS RATE WITH RAINWATER HARVESTING,AND SO HAS BANGALORE.IN THESE CITIES,NONCOMPLIANCE OF RAINWATER REGULATIONS INVITES A HEAVY PENALTY AND THE GOVERNMENTS INTENT ABOUT IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT ENSURED THAT THEY HAD A PROPER MONITORING SYSTEM IN PLACE RAINWATER HARVESTING WAS MADE MANDATORY FOR ALL BUILDINGS IN CHENNAI IN 2002,AND INTERESTINGLY,ALMOST EVERYONE COMPLIED EVEN THOUGH THE GOVERNMENT REFUSED TO PROVIDE ANY SUBSIDY FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION
QUICK BITES IN JULY 2001,AFTER A HIGH COURT DIRECTIVE,THE DELHI GOVERNMENT MADE IT COMPULSORY FOR ALL CONSTRUCTIONS COMING UP ON A PLOT SIZE OF 100 SQUARE METRES OR MORE TO INSTALL RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS.NOW,10 YEARS DOWN THE LINE,POOR AND INEPT IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING OF THE SYSTEM HAS KILLED OFF THE PROGRAMME
Continued
The Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) has directed through public notices issued between March 2001 and August 2004 to group-housing societies, institutions,schools,hotels,industrial establishments,farmhouses in South and Southwest districts and grouphousing societies located outside notified areas of the NCT of Delhi to adopt rooftop rainwater harvesting systems in their premises.The ministry of urban development & poverty alleviation (Delhi division) has also made it mandatory under modifications to its building bylaws of 1983 that water harvesting through storing of water runoffs including rainwater in all new building on plots of 100 square metres and above will be mandatory.All buildings having a minimum discharge of 10,000 litres and above per day shall incorporate wastewater recycling system.The recycled water should be used for horticultural purposes".There are those who say that rainwater harvesting is highly cost intensive and they would not be able to derive any direct benefits from it,there are several examples in the country that can prove them wrong.Chennai has had an almost 100% success rate with rainwater harvesting,and so has Bangalore.In these cities,non-compliance of rainwater regulations invites a heavy penalty and the governments,serious about implementing the project,ensured that they had a proper monitoring system in place.Rainwater harvesting was made mandatory for all buildings in Chennai in 2002,and interestingly,almost everyone complied even though the government refused to provide any subsidy for its implementation.The push came from the governments directive that noncompliance of the law would result in a heavy penalty.The government ordered water supply to be cut to those buildings where rainwater harvesting was not carried out.In some places,electric supply was also cut off if residents or owners offered too much resistance.Sekar Raghavan,director of Rain Centre in Chennai,said that results of large-scale water harvesting had become evident by January 2006.In a survey carried out then,it was found that wells that had been dry for over 30 years started getting replenished.After the 2005 monsoon,we saw immediate results.Groundwater levels went up by as much as 6-8 metres in several areas, he said.Bangalore,whose water comes from the Cauvery river nearly 100km away from the city,depended on groundwater for 40% of its water demand,which led to a sharp fall in the water table here.Finally,rainwater harvesting was made compulsory in the city in August 2009 and several households and commercial buildings have either got the rainwater harvesting system or are in the process of getting them installed.P B Ramamurthy,chairman of the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB),says that rainwater harvesting became mandatory by an amendment to the BWSSB Act in 2009 and the city was given nine months,with a deadline of May 2010,to ensure that all new buildings on a plot of 30 ft x 40 ft or above and existing buildings on a plot of 60 ft x 40 ft or above had set up rainwater harvesting structures.Jyoti Sharma,director of Forum of Resource Conservation and Enhancement (FORCE),who has been actively engaged with the government and residents to promote rainwater harvesting,says: In Delhi,getting permission for rainwater harvesting structures is the biggest problem due to multiplicity of agencies.Even though the process sounds easy enough,getting the system installed in a place right now is no joke,to the extent that in several cases people chose to pay money and get a completion certificate from the civic agency rather than run around.If the government seems tardy on this,only residential buildings and houses adopting rainwater harvesting can make a difference in the water availability for the city. Simple recharge structures cost between Rs 2,000 and Rs 30,000.However,if a lot of drilling is required along with a tube well,then the cost goes up substantially.Where there is a hard rocky terrain,drilling itself can cost about Rs 30,000.If one is living in East Delhi,they would only require a storage pit and not a recharge structure since the groundwater levels there are still high, says Sushmita Sengupta,research associate at Centre for Science and Environment.In Delhi,if one wants to avail of government financial help for rainwater harvesting,they need to get their plans approved either by the CGWA or the DJB.The CGWA also makes plans and clears the boring of tube wells,but on a highly selective basis as DJB has taken over groundwater management in the city.DJB on the other hand can sanction rainwater harvesting plans but cannot permit a tube well unless an advisory committee,headed by the concerned areas DC,doesn't give permission.The Delhi government also has schemes like My Delhi,I Care and parks and garden societies,which make the interface between individuals,communities and the government slightly easier.Steps for financial assistance for rainwater harvesting Collect authentic data on site for rainwater harvesting,type of soil,drainage system and rainwater to be harvested Get a plan drawn on the recharge scheme with technical design.This can be done by the central groundwater board,an architect or by the rainwater harvesting cell of DJB.Plans not prepared by CGWB (Central Ground Water Board) would have to be verified by it Get in touch with an agency for execution of the project.A list of approved agencies is available with CGWB.The agency will prepare an estimate of the work and expenditure The detailed estimate has to be submitted to DJB through the zonal engineer or the rainwater harvesting cells executive engineer for approval of financial assistance Get work executed Apply to the executive engineer of DJBs rainwater harvesting cell along with completion certificate,payment details and maintenance agreement for release of financial assistance QUICK BITES CHENNAI HAS HAD AN ALMOST 100% SUCCESS RATE WITH RAINWATER HARVESTING,AND SO HAS BANGALORE.IN THESE CITIES,NONCOMPLIANCE OF RAINWATER REGULATIONS INVITES A HEAVY PENALTY AND THE GOVERNMENTS INTENT ABOUT IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT ENSURED THAT THEY HAD A PROPER MONITORING SYSTEM IN PLACE RAINWATER HARVESTING WAS MADE MANDATORY FOR ALL BUILDINGS IN CHENNAI IN 2002,AND INTERESTINGLY,ALMOST EVERYONE COMPLIED EVEN THOUGH THE GOVERNMENT REFUSED TO PROVIDE ANY SUBSIDY FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Getting dirty helps clean up Yamuna (21 December 2010 Asian Age)
Many efforts and a lot of investment has been put in to clean up the Yamuna in the recent past. While the government is trying its best to preserve a clean Yamuna with various projects on hand, there are many individual efforts too. And many feel that more than sincerity, continuity helps. A religious leader from the Braj region, Ramesh Baba of Barsana in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura district has announced a march along the Yamuna from Allahabad to Delhi in March next year to help raise awareness. He intends to mobilise people to clean the polluted river. Reports say that over 15,000 followers from all over the world and other religious leaders would join the march. Earlier this year, in October, before the Commonwealth Games, students from various schools joined hands to clean the river. Interestingly, there have been projects under the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) and the DJB (Delhi Jal Board) that are meant to clean the river of life. The attempts may have been several and sincere, but does getting down and dirty really help? Or does it end as the cleanliness drive concludes? Deena Nath Singh, programme officer, Sahbhagi Sikshan Kendra, who worked on the Yamuna Action Plan II, says that such initiatives definitely help in spreading awareness. “Public participation and awareness programmes that we undertook helped a lot in imparting knowledge about the benefits of a clean river, especially among students,” says Nath, talking about the steps that the kids living on the banks of Yamuna started taking after the project ended. “After the solid-waste management awareness program, we noticed a huge change. The waste level at the banks had reduced. Now, in certain areas where awareness has been more, the level of pollution in the river has reduced,” he adds. But not everyone agrees with it. Some feel that these awareness programmes or cleanliness drives at an individual level, work temporarily. “Till the time it’s happening, people work towards it, but soon after they forget,” says Aman Panwar, a 22-year-old law student, who has actively participated in many cleanliness programmes. Aman thinks that to motivate people to keep working for such causes, initiatives should be taken up to make those who are concerned hooked. “The major problem with people here is that they forget their responsibilities once there is no one to remind them,” he adds. However, Manoj Misra, convener, Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan, has a different opinion. He thinks that individual efforts go a long way. “If not many, such efforts at least inspire a few to take up a cause,” he says, talking about the Punjab-based leader Baba Balbir Singh, who was successful in cleaning river Kali Bein. “But one such effort would not be that helpful as a combined time and again drive,” he adds.
Rs. 1,400-cr plans for clean Ganga (Hindustan Times 12 December 2010)
Several new projects worth Rs 1400 crore have been sanctioned for various projects in four states to check pollution in the Ganga, the Centre has told the Supreme Court. The money sanctioned under the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) programme would be spent on projects related to sewer networks, sewage treatment and river front development in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal.
According to documents filed by the Centre, Rs 496 crore and Rs 305 crore has been sanctioned for Varanasi and Allahabad, Rs 442 crore has been sanctioned for Bihar to be spent in Hajipur, Baxur, Munger and Begusarai.
The documents were filed In response to a petition challenging an Allahabad HC order dismissing a PIL by N Ravindran, who had questioned the involvement of UP Jal Nigam in the implementation of GAP-II alleging it had failed to discharge its obligations in respect of GAP-I.
A bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi dismissed the petition as withdrawn after Additional Solicitor General Mohan Jain submitted details of the utilisation of funds for GAP and the petitioner's counsel said he did not want to press the petition in view of the constitution of the NGRBA under chairmanship of Prim Minister Manmohan Singh.
The court gave liberty to the petitioner to agitate the issue afresh. A bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia is scheduled to hear another petition filed by advocate and environment activist MC Mehta on Monday.
According to documents filed by the Centre, Rs 496 crore and Rs 305 crore has been sanctioned for Varanasi and Allahabad, Rs 442 crore has been sanctioned for Bihar to be spent in Hajipur, Baxur, Munger and Begusarai.
The documents were filed In response to a petition challenging an Allahabad HC order dismissing a PIL by N Ravindran, who had questioned the involvement of UP Jal Nigam in the implementation of GAP-II alleging it had failed to discharge its obligations in respect of GAP-I.
A bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi dismissed the petition as withdrawn after Additional Solicitor General Mohan Jain submitted details of the utilisation of funds for GAP and the petitioner's counsel said he did not want to press the petition in view of the constitution of the NGRBA under chairmanship of Prim Minister Manmohan Singh.
The court gave liberty to the petitioner to agitate the issue afresh. A bench headed by Chief Justice SH Kapadia is scheduled to hear another petition filed by advocate and environment activist MC Mehta on Monday.
Save the Ganga (Asian Age 13 December 2010)
Vandana Shiva
I am travelling with the Ganga yatra which is a pilgrimage to save the river Ganga. The Ganga is India’s ecological, economic, cultural and spiritual lifeline. That is why we are undertaking the Ganga yatra.The threats to our Mother Ganga, or “Ganga Ma”, are many. Deforestation was a major threat to the catchment of Ganga in the 1970s. The myth of the descent of Ganga is, in fact, an ecological tale.Ganga, whose waves in swarga flow, Is daughter of the lord of snow. Win Shiv, that his aid be lent,To hold her in her mid-descent. For earth alone will never bear. These torrents travelled from the upper air.
The story of the descent of the Ganga is an ecological story. The above hymn is a tale of the hydrological problem associated with the descent of a mighty river like the Ganga. H.C. Reiger, the eminent Himalayan ecologist, described the material rationality of the hymn in the following words: “In the scriptures a realisation is there that if all the waters which descend upon the mountain were to beat down upon the naked earth would never bear the torrents… In Shiv’s hair we have a very well-known physical device which breaks the force of the water coming down… the vegetation of the mountains”.
That is why the Chipko Movement, which was initiated to protect the Himalayan forests, was important for India’s ecological security. I started my ecological activism with Chipko. After nearly a decade of Chipko actions, logging was banned in the high Himalaya in 1981.
The women had given the slogan: “What do the forests bear: soil, water and pure air”, to replace the slogan of commercial forestry: “What do the forest bear: timber, resin and revenue”.
After the 1978 flood in the Ganga, it became clear that water conservation was the first gift of the Himalayan forests. The wisdom of the peasant women of Garhwal is today called the economies of ecosystems.
The Ganga is threatened at its very source — the Gangotri glacier. Climate change has led to the decline in snowfall and an increase in the rate of melting of snow. From 1935 to 1956, the retreat of the Gangotri glacier was 4.35 metres per year. In the period 1990-1996 it is 28.33 m/yr. The average rate of retreat is 20-38 m/yr. If this retreat continues, the Ganga would become a seasonal river, with major ecological and economic consequences for the entire Ganga basin. This is why we need climate justice for water justice.
The Ganga’s tributaries are threatened by dams and diversions in the upper reaches. The 260.5-metre-high Tehri dam, built at Tehri on the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Bhilangana, submerged the ancient capital of Tehri Garhwal, destroyed the lush and fertile fields of the valleys and displaced 1,00,000 people from 125 villages of which 33 were completely submerged. But the displacement due to the dam continues.
At the shore of the reservoir, people were flooded from below and above simultaneously. Fields and homes by the dam shore were submerged as the water level rose from 820 to 835 metres. The authorities of the Tehri Hydropower plant were not willing to release excess water from the dam even though the water levels were affecting the surrounding villages. From their point of view, release through the slush gates was spillage. Mooni Devi, who lives at water level, says: “This used to be such a great place with great farms. The dam builders have turned us all into beggars”.
A chain of hydroelectric projects have stopped the “aviral” flow of the Ganga and in many stretches the Ganga runs dry. The Government of India has been proposing hydroelectric projects on Loharinag-Pala, Pala-Maneri and Bhaironghati on Bhagirathi to tap their hydropower potential. In addition to the already-built Tehri dam and Maneri Bhali-2 dam, a series of dams were planned between Gangotri and Uttarakashi on the river Bhagirathi. It took penance and fasting by today’s “Bhagirath”, Prof. G.D. Agarwal, to stop the dams on the Bhagirathi.
In the plains a big threat to the Ganga and Yamuna is pollution — both from industry and sewage. And even as billions are poured into cleaning the Ganga and the Yamuna through the Ganga Action Plan and the Yamuna Action Plan, the pollution of our sacred river increases because of a combination of corruption and inappropriate technologies.
Industrialisation and urbanisation have turned our sacred rivers into sinks for pollutants. The Yamuna is clean before entering Delhi. In 22 km of its journey through Delhi, it picks up 70 per cent of the pollution of the river in its total length. Various action plans have set up centralised sewage treatment plants that do not work and 70 per cent of untreated sewage is dumped into the river. The river dies because of pollution, the land dies because it is deprived of rich nutrients. As Sunderlal Bahuguna reminded me, Mahatama Gandhi called this “golden manure”. Intelligent zero-waste-sewage treatment systems like those evolved in IIT-Kanpur by Dr Vinod Tare would clean the Ganga and also fertilise the soil. We would not be wasting `130,000 crore on fertiliser subsidies and thousands of crore on river action plans. Organic farming can be a major action for cleaning the Ganga.
The final threat to the Ganga is privatisation. Privatisation of water reduces it to a commodity, makes giant corporations owners and sellers of water and ordinary citizens, buyers and consumers. The role of citizens and communities as conservers and caretakers is destroyed. The human right to water, which was recognised by the United Nations in April 2010, is undermined. That is why when the Ganges water which has been brought to Delhi from Tehri was being privatised to Suez through a World Bank project, we built a Citizens Alliance for Water Democracy and told the World Bank and the Delhi government that our “Mother Ganga is not for sale”. The World Bank project was withdrawn and the privatisation stopped.
The movement to Save the Ganga and its “nirmal (clean)” and “aviral (uninterrupted)” flow is not just a movement to save a river. It is a movement to save India’s troubled soul that is polluted and stifled by crass consumerism and greed, disconnected from its ecological and cultural foundations. If the Ganga lives, India lives. If the Ganga dies, India dies. Dr Vandana Shiva is the executive director of the Navdanya Trust
I am travelling with the Ganga yatra which is a pilgrimage to save the river Ganga. The Ganga is India’s ecological, economic, cultural and spiritual lifeline. That is why we are undertaking the Ganga yatra.The threats to our Mother Ganga, or “Ganga Ma”, are many. Deforestation was a major threat to the catchment of Ganga in the 1970s. The myth of the descent of Ganga is, in fact, an ecological tale.Ganga, whose waves in swarga flow, Is daughter of the lord of snow. Win Shiv, that his aid be lent,To hold her in her mid-descent. For earth alone will never bear. These torrents travelled from the upper air.
The story of the descent of the Ganga is an ecological story. The above hymn is a tale of the hydrological problem associated with the descent of a mighty river like the Ganga. H.C. Reiger, the eminent Himalayan ecologist, described the material rationality of the hymn in the following words: “In the scriptures a realisation is there that if all the waters which descend upon the mountain were to beat down upon the naked earth would never bear the torrents… In Shiv’s hair we have a very well-known physical device which breaks the force of the water coming down… the vegetation of the mountains”.
That is why the Chipko Movement, which was initiated to protect the Himalayan forests, was important for India’s ecological security. I started my ecological activism with Chipko. After nearly a decade of Chipko actions, logging was banned in the high Himalaya in 1981.
The women had given the slogan: “What do the forests bear: soil, water and pure air”, to replace the slogan of commercial forestry: “What do the forest bear: timber, resin and revenue”.
After the 1978 flood in the Ganga, it became clear that water conservation was the first gift of the Himalayan forests. The wisdom of the peasant women of Garhwal is today called the economies of ecosystems.
The Ganga is threatened at its very source — the Gangotri glacier. Climate change has led to the decline in snowfall and an increase in the rate of melting of snow. From 1935 to 1956, the retreat of the Gangotri glacier was 4.35 metres per year. In the period 1990-1996 it is 28.33 m/yr. The average rate of retreat is 20-38 m/yr. If this retreat continues, the Ganga would become a seasonal river, with major ecological and economic consequences for the entire Ganga basin. This is why we need climate justice for water justice.
The Ganga’s tributaries are threatened by dams and diversions in the upper reaches. The 260.5-metre-high Tehri dam, built at Tehri on the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Bhilangana, submerged the ancient capital of Tehri Garhwal, destroyed the lush and fertile fields of the valleys and displaced 1,00,000 people from 125 villages of which 33 were completely submerged. But the displacement due to the dam continues.
At the shore of the reservoir, people were flooded from below and above simultaneously. Fields and homes by the dam shore were submerged as the water level rose from 820 to 835 metres. The authorities of the Tehri Hydropower plant were not willing to release excess water from the dam even though the water levels were affecting the surrounding villages. From their point of view, release through the slush gates was spillage. Mooni Devi, who lives at water level, says: “This used to be such a great place with great farms. The dam builders have turned us all into beggars”.
A chain of hydroelectric projects have stopped the “aviral” flow of the Ganga and in many stretches the Ganga runs dry. The Government of India has been proposing hydroelectric projects on Loharinag-Pala, Pala-Maneri and Bhaironghati on Bhagirathi to tap their hydropower potential. In addition to the already-built Tehri dam and Maneri Bhali-2 dam, a series of dams were planned between Gangotri and Uttarakashi on the river Bhagirathi. It took penance and fasting by today’s “Bhagirath”, Prof. G.D. Agarwal, to stop the dams on the Bhagirathi.
In the plains a big threat to the Ganga and Yamuna is pollution — both from industry and sewage. And even as billions are poured into cleaning the Ganga and the Yamuna through the Ganga Action Plan and the Yamuna Action Plan, the pollution of our sacred river increases because of a combination of corruption and inappropriate technologies.
Industrialisation and urbanisation have turned our sacred rivers into sinks for pollutants. The Yamuna is clean before entering Delhi. In 22 km of its journey through Delhi, it picks up 70 per cent of the pollution of the river in its total length. Various action plans have set up centralised sewage treatment plants that do not work and 70 per cent of untreated sewage is dumped into the river. The river dies because of pollution, the land dies because it is deprived of rich nutrients. As Sunderlal Bahuguna reminded me, Mahatama Gandhi called this “golden manure”. Intelligent zero-waste-sewage treatment systems like those evolved in IIT-Kanpur by Dr Vinod Tare would clean the Ganga and also fertilise the soil. We would not be wasting `130,000 crore on fertiliser subsidies and thousands of crore on river action plans. Organic farming can be a major action for cleaning the Ganga.
The final threat to the Ganga is privatisation. Privatisation of water reduces it to a commodity, makes giant corporations owners and sellers of water and ordinary citizens, buyers and consumers. The role of citizens and communities as conservers and caretakers is destroyed. The human right to water, which was recognised by the United Nations in April 2010, is undermined. That is why when the Ganges water which has been brought to Delhi from Tehri was being privatised to Suez through a World Bank project, we built a Citizens Alliance for Water Democracy and told the World Bank and the Delhi government that our “Mother Ganga is not for sale”. The World Bank project was withdrawn and the privatisation stopped.
The movement to Save the Ganga and its “nirmal (clean)” and “aviral (uninterrupted)” flow is not just a movement to save a river. It is a movement to save India’s troubled soul that is polluted and stifled by crass consumerism and greed, disconnected from its ecological and cultural foundations. If the Ganga lives, India lives. If the Ganga dies, India dies. Dr Vandana Shiva is the executive director of the Navdanya Trust
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