NEW DELHI, Nov. 4: The government today decided to declare the Ganga as the first 'national river' and set up a high powered Ganga River Basin Authority headed by the Prime Minister to protect the ancient river from pollution and degradation.
"It was decided that there is a need to replace the current piecemeal efforts taken up in a fragmented manner in select cities with an integrated approach that sees the river as an ecological entity and addresses issues of quantity in terms of water flows along with issues of quality," a PMO release said after a meeting chaired by the Prime Minister and attended by ministers of water resources, environment and forests and urban development.
Dr Manmohan Singh told the meeting that there was a need to set up a model for cleaning of rivers through the new institutional mechanism. The proposed Authority headed by the Prime Minister would have as its members chief ministers of states through which the 2510 km long river flows. It flows through Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
The details of the authority to be vested with appropriate powers would be worked out in consultation with state governments and Central ministries. Dr Singh referred to the special place Ganga has in the hearts and minds of all Indians and stated that this emotional link needs to be recognised. "The country should set up a model for river cleaning through the new institutional mechanism," said the PMO statement.
The proposed authority will promote inter-sectoral coordination for comprehensive planning for the river. Various agencies working on different aspects of river conservation and pollution management would be brought together under this proposed authority.
The Ganga with its source at Gangotri glacier in Gaumukh in Uttarakhand which has been receding rapidly enters the Bay of Bengal at the Sunderbans delta and the industries along its banks cause immense pollution, a cause of concern for the government.
Dr Singh wanted detailed final proposals to be prepared within two months after necessary consultations. It was also recognised that the spirit of the Ganga Action Plan as conceived in 1985 by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of making the cleaning of the Ganga a people's movement should be restored. Last month, the PM had met a delegation led by Shankaracharya Swami Swaroopanand Saraswati and Magsaysay awardee Rajendra Singh who pressed for making the Ganga a national river as it continued to be polluted despite the government having spent a huge amount on pollution control projects.