Clean Ganga

Clean Ganga

 Article:

Article discuss about the impact of developmental projects affecting Ganga flow

Important Analysis:

• Clean Ganga project was setup by Government to clean Ganga by setting up sewage treatments plants and cleaning ghats and banks, However, the main issue has been ignored which to maintain the adequate flow of water in Ganga Basin
• With severe pollution destroying the river, and developmental projects critically affecting its flow.
• Several hydropower projects are mushrooming at the source of the river, which is the Garhwal range of the Himalayas from here 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.

Hydropower projects and its consequences:

• To construct a hydropower project, large sections of land are cleared of forests
• The immediate impacts of these projects have been loss of agriculture, drying of water sources, and landslides.
• As construction in such projects progresses, there is also dumping of muck, which can pose severe threats. For instance, Muck dumping during construction of the Alaknanda hydropower project caused devastation downstream in Srinagar in the 2013 flash floods.
• After all the massive deforestation, muck dumping, blasting and tunneling, the hydropower projects thus constructed eventually dry up the river bed as the water is diverted into tunnels.
• This causes severe distress to aquatic life, and the river bed is no longer even wet in certain stretches.
• The main issue is, that even after all this devastation, electricity is not generated as per the intended capacity. For example, the installed capacity of the Maneri dam is 90 MW but it only works at below 40% of its capacity. This is because there is too much silt during the monsoon and reduced flow of water in winters.
• Since the reason for diminished output is natural and not technical it is difficult to find quick remedy. For instance, the flow of debris was stopped by barrages in the Alaknanda hydropower project. This escalated the impact of the 2013 disaster.
• 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

Government Initiative:

• 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.
• However, it was observed the 20% recommendation is less than the scientific recommendation of 50% (only for existing projects)
• The existing projects which currently do not meet the norms will have to ensure that the desired environmental flow norms are complied with within a period of three years.
• The mini and micro projects which do not alter the flow characteristics of the river or stream significantly are exempted from these environmental flows.