A Panel Discussion was held on Lok Sabha TV at 1 PM and 4 PM on the 24th of January 2020 to discuss provisions for Water in Ms. Nirmala Sitaraman’s Budget Session in Lok Sabha due on 1st February. The Program was anchored by Parakram Singh Shekhawat. The panelists were Arun Tiwari, Manohar Khushalani and Himanshu Thakkar. They all went into their expectations from the budget with respect to Budget Provisions for Jal Shakti – Water. 

The anchor began the discussion with a small introduction of the Ministry of water resources (Jal Shakti Mantraley), Mr. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, the troubled state of water quality and availability through the country, and its ever arising complications. Mr. Arun Tiwari elaborated on our lack of efforts in successfully harvesting rainwater and sustaining groundwater levels, highlighting the lack of regulations surrounding these harvesting methods. The importance of sustainability was highlighted as well unless groundwater is recharged, regulated and the focus needs to be shifted to Sustainability. 

The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation have been merged into the Jal Shakti Ministry under the second term of the Modi government and the Jal Shakti Ministry was allocated Rs 28,261 Crore, an 8% increase. A 10 pointer vision for the next decade was listed out by the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She elaborated that the Jal Shakti Ministry will manage the country’s water resources and water supply in an integrated holistic manner, and will work towards supplying all rural households with water supply by 2024. In the LSTV discussion, Manohar brought forward a set of important points such as the minimal increase in the budget allocated, the unsanitary sewage system, and lack of stormwater drains. He also insisted that along with budget allocation, our national lakes need to be taken care of efficiently and resurrected, and the need for the development of rural handicrafts and the need for a River Basin Authority, for the systematic distribution of water. 

The Atal Bhujal Yojna, is a scheme, also known as ‘Atal Jal’ will promote panchayat-led groundwater management and behavioral change with a primary focus on demand-side management. The scheme is aimed at

• doubling farmers’ incomes,
• promoting participatory groundwater management,
• improving water use efficiency on a mass scale,
• improving cropping pattern and
• promoting efficient and equitable use of groundwater resources and
• behavioral change at the community level.

Official estimates state that over INR 9 crores (90 million) toilets were constructed from 2014 when the Swacch Bharat Mission was launched under the Modi government as one of its flagship schemes. Yet, a government survey in 2017 showed that 6 out of 10 toilets built under the Swacch Bharat Mission did not have water supply, and were hence unusable.

The chemical fertilizer farming is allocated INR 80,000crores, while the green revolution farmers are allotted INR12,000crores but the Organic manure farming is allocated only INR 2 Crore, Manohar Khushalani pointed out, the obvious lack of financial support to organic farmers led to Cancer and other diseases in the cities of Punjab and Harayana, he insisted on the importance of WaterShed Management, an initiative taken by Anna Hazare previously. 

The discussion shed light upon various important aspects of Budget allocation for water conservation and also examined the various areas where more efforts are required for sustainability.

You can watch the informative debate here.

You will find more details on the next debate on LSTV on the topic of Atal Bhujal Yojna, Please find the entire debate here.

Prof. Manohar Khushalani with co-panelists Mahamandaleshwar Martand Puri and Mr. Rajya Sarai discusses the issue of cleaning Ganga on a live program conducted by News24.

Cleaning of the life-giving river Ganga has been a hot topic for so long, that it doesn’t even surprise anymore. With thousands of crores been spent on achieving this goal, we also lost Prof. G.D. Agrawal, a.k.a Swami Sanand, our Ganga Putra who lost his life trying to fight for it. For 111 days he sent letters to the government to clean the river, stop the construction of dams on it and make better rules and regulations but was left answered and his health deteriorated. 

The idea of eco-flow has been accepted by the government and as soon as it gets implemented, Prof. G.D. Agarwal will get his much-deserved homage, pointed Sarai. He also adds that his heart-attack must be investigated as it could be the result of feeding him some kind of slow poison and not the hunger strike. 

Ganga Action Plan was made in 1886 and no positive effect has been witnessed since then. Khushalani adds that we don’t lack the idea of how to improve the situation, but the approach towards achieving the goal should be honest.  

Ganga is not just a river but the soul of India, and today its a matter of shame for Indians says Martand Puri Ji. He adds that politics only cares about votes and the parties only ask for votes in the name of Ganga. He also demands that polluting Ganga should be considered National Crime if people call Ganga our National River.

After this, general people listening to this discussion were asked to give their views. Some say that the government has been deaf to the messages of people. Others say that people are also equally at fault and they need to work with the government. Some also demand a clear cut detailed declaration of where the budget money was used as they feel it might have been embezzled. 

The feeling of national responsibility is dying day by day. It has been over 30 years, many plans like Ganga Action Plan, Ganga Safai Yojana, Namami Gange, etc under a budget of more than thousands of crores were initiated and the problem remains the same. According to the Supreme Court, if this is the pace at which the situation is handled, it will take more approximately 200 years to clean Ganga. It’s the collective responsibility of the citizens and the government to save our National River. 

For more detailed visit the link : https://youtu.be/GW11GwXHSpI

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BTP Students: Sejal Kumar / Aysha Fazilath / Rahul Patwardhan / Vyshakh Dharan

This informative OneVorld video gives us some insights into the Ganga Pollution. Ganga is one of the most polluted rivers in the world. It flows through over 100 cities with a population in lakhs and takes heavy toxic metals like lead and copper. The average BOD level of the river around the year is 38 mg/L which is a lot more than the bar of the severely polluted rivers. However, many cleanup efforts have been made to clean the river Ganga. One of the main was Ganga Action Plan which was launched by Rajiv Gandhi in 1986 on which 862.59 crore rupees were spent. Its main objective was to treat the domestic sewage and prevent the toxic industrial chemical waste from being dumped into the river.

Ganga River is a trans-boundary river that flows through India and Bangladesh with a length of 2525 km. It originates in the western Himalayas and the Uttarakhand and ends up in the Bay of Bengal. It is the most sacred river and worshipped as Goddess Ganga in Hinduism. It is a lifeline to millions and is however itself dying. In recent years the Ganga has suffered a lot from pollution and the pollution level is now above the acceptable range.

The B.O.D. level for a prestige river is around 1 mg/l and ranges from 2-8 mg/l for moderately polluted rivers. Rivers with B.O.D. level above 8 mg/l are considered to be severely polluted. The average B.O.D. level around the year has been 38 mg/l. It had to suffer as it takes so much waste including toxic metals like lead and copper. The river flows through 100 cities with a population in lakhs.

IIITD Student B.Tech Project. BTP Supervisor: Prof. Manohar Khushalani
BTP Students: Sejal Kumar / Aysha Fazilath / Rahul Patwardhan / Vyshakh Dharan
Video Input: Utsav Rohilla / Nitin Yadav / Aditya Diundi

Guru Das Agrawal also known as Sant Swami Sanand, Sant Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanand (20 July 1932 – 11 October 2018) was an Indian environmental engineer, religious leader, monk, environmental activist, professor, and he was the Patron of Ganga Mahasabha founded by Madan Mohan Malviya in 1905.

Agrawal died on 11 October 2018, after fasting since 22 June 2018, demanding the government act on its promises to clean and save the Ganga.

Prof. Manohar Khushalani from IIIT-Delhi appeared live on 12th October 2018, on News 24 at 4.55 pm on a program on Ganga – Panch ki Panchayat. IIT Professor, Dr G. D. Agarwal’s departure from this planet after a fast unto death has refocused on the significant issue of Pollution of our Rivers. The program was shot in an Interesting format of a Panel Discussion in the open studio in Connaught Place. The format brought back Khushalani’s  Street Theatre memories, spiced with pangs of Nostalgia, as he is one of the pioneers of street theatre movement in Delhi

https://youtu.be/999ngrj_BHM/

It is beyond the shadow of a doubt that a healthy environment is the crucible in which human life and activity blossoms. Yet we all know that human activity is mauling and mutilating this crucible just like the woodcutter who is cutting the branch on which he is perched.

most vulnerable country to climate change.

It is election season and the manifestoes of political parties reflect their perceptions of the concerns of society at large. The manifestoes are drawn up carefully after large scale feedback. Yet inspite of the looming environmental crisis this critical concern is all but absent from manifestoes. That being the case it would be too much to expect drastic proactive action in favour of environmental conservation from the next government.

Just last week Iceland elected Ms.Katrin Jakobsdottir, a 41 year old environmentalist who is committed to clean energy, as Prime Minister. “As Chairwoman of the Left-Green Movement, a grass-roots organization that focuses on democratic socialist values, feminism, and environmentalism, Katrin has already taken big steps to move towards clean energy in Iceland.”

To expect a green manifesto is a cry in the wilderness. But if a political party were to devote a section of its manifesto to a green action plan then they could draw upon the following draft.

“On coming to power our party promises to the people of India that

The budgetary allocation of the Ministry of Environment would be raised from current 7% to 15% of the annual budget of the Central Govt. The enhanced budgets would not only increase the scope and depth of work undertaken but also vastly increase the monitoring and knowledge gathering and knowledge creation activity of the Ministry and its agencies

The legal and institutional framework for environmental protection and regulation would be strengthened. Specifically :

appointment and terms of service of members/Chairman of the National Green Tribunal leaving the original rules of appointment undisturbed

benches of the National Green Tribunal would be doubled progressively over 5 years

dilution of EIA notifications would be withdrawn. The quality of EIAs would be raised by rigourous scrutiny, rejection of shoddy EIAs, blacklisting of conniving EIA consultants

Forest Rights Act would be enforced without dilution and the pace implementation of forest dweller rights would be quickened while ensuring sympathetic hearing to their claims – strengthening the law – new laws – forest rights act, wetland rules, coastal zone management, rigorous implementation of existing rules

Dilutions to the Coastal Regulation Zone would be examined afresh as also the development oriented approach of the Island Development Agency which appears to have overridden environmental concerns of the several island territories.

strengthen the independence of institutions such as NBWL, FAC, WII and all regulatory and advisory agencies under the MoEF

implementation of existing rules would be done with greater rigour than ever before. For eg. the capacities and performance of CPCB and State Pollution Control Boards would be greatly strengthened

Carbon neutrality : The Govt. would aim to achieve carbon neutrality by progressively reducing carbon intensity of the economy. The Govt. would aim to outdo its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) and attain carbon neutrality by 2050

Coal fired plants will be gradually phased out so that our virgin forests can be protected as no go areas

dispersed green cover. The spatial dimensions of this cover would follow earlier distribution of forests so as to maintain a continuity in climatic and weather patterns

tree cover on private lands. Presently, other than commercial tree plantations there are several disincentives to grow a diverse tree cover on private lands. This would also include emphasis on promoting agro-forestry.

Rain is the only source of water on the subcontinent. The winter monsoon has almost disappeared whereas the reliability of the summer monsoon does not have the same certainity as before with more frequent El Nino events. The Govt. will promote urgent research on the monsoon phenomena, not merely about forecasting, but about increasing its reliability

Rivers are the life-giving arteries of the country. Yet they are becoming anaemic before our very eyes. The present focus on pollution is a comparatively smaller problem which has a technological fix and can be resolved can be resolved by appropriate capital expenditures. The revival of flows in rivers and streams is a far more complex issue amenable to appropriate stern remedies and only in the long term. Here the Govt. would :

Promote basin management at all orders of streams. The basin approach would optimize the use of intra basin resources such as rainfall, surface and subsurface resources, recycled waters on the supply side while the demand side management would enhance efficiencies in water use in agriculture, industry and domestic sectors

floodplain protection the Ganga Authorities Notification, 2016 would be extended to all rivers upto 2^nd order streams

v All relevant social statistics, economic statistics, scientific data, natural resource data would be collected at least at the level of 3^rd and perhaps 2^nd order streams

Irrigation is the sector where 80% of India’s water is used. If this can be significantly curtailed water diversion from rivers can be substantially reduced as also ground water extraction. Several technological and agronomic practices can increase crop productivity while reducing water input. The Govt. will take up this thrust on a war footing

free flowing rivers and, as efficiencies increase, would examine decommissioning of various dams and barrages

Urban water efficiencies would be enhanced and the individual water supply norm per capita would be brought down progressively to below 100 lpcd over next 5 years. Recycling and demand management practices would be given preference over fresh water supply side solutions. Ultimately smart cities would sustain themselves on an almost closed loop of local water resources

v Research would be promoted to incorporate dry toilet systems to almost eliminate the requirement of flushing water and eliminate sewage and centralized sewage treatment plants. Decentralized sewage treatment plants having nature based solutions would be promoted

Wetlands provide several critical eco-system services. Yet the loss of wetlands to encroachments and reclamation continues unabated. The countries network of wetlands will be protected by :

o Strengthening the Wetland [Conservation and Management] Rules 2010 enhancing their applicability to all wetlands noted in National Wetland Atlas as required by Supreme Court ruling of February, 2017

o Wetlands not included in the National Wetland Atlas would also be given a legal protection

o A sub-continent sized country can have thousands of Ramsar sites. India has only 27. Work in identifying and notifying more sites would be expedited. Pragmatic management plans would be drawn up for these sites which would have Lake Management Authorities with overriding powers on the lines of Chilika Lake Development Authority.

v wetlands – aquifers sanctuaries– traditional water management openness of data wetlands

Groundwater meets a majority of irrigation and domestic consumption needs. India has the dubious distinction of being the largest user of groundwater in the world racing to exhaust its aquifers. Management and sustainability of aquifers and springs would now on be considered in conjunction with surface water as advised in the Mihir Shah report. Groundwater sanctuaries and good recharge zones would be protected from contrarian landuse especially in the course of urbanization and infrastructure development. The budget for groundwater monitoring and management would be stepped up

Agriculture Sector – here it is proposed to shift MSP support towards the lesser grains and millets which consume less water. Water saving technology and agronomic practices would be supported vigourously. The use of traditional seeds, crop diversity, organic inputs, improvement of exhausted soils, enhancement of pollinator diversity and populations, increased acreage under agro-forestry, elimination of chemical inputs would be thrust areas. Sikkim’s success in becoming 100% organic would be a bench mark for other states.

Wildlife – improvement of habitat and prey base in existing Protected Areas would be stressed. The growing man-animal conflict would have to be addressed even as humans and wildlife adapt to being at closer quarters. More protected areas and corridor connectivity would be given priority in the landscape as well as the urbanscape

urban areas would stress on more humane character with greater play of natural elements such as habitats, urban forests, urban agriculture, groundwater recharge, conservation of waterbodies, macro-water harvesting, larger percentage of area under green cover.

Tree Cover – current norms allow tree cutting by replacement with larger numbers of trees. In actual practice this encourages small canopy trees in order to meet the number requirement. This would be revised to replace the canopy cover lost by a greater extent of canopy cover. In Himalayas the tree cover would be densified to promote cooler temperatures especially close to the tree line

XVI. Achievement of Indian National Biodiversity Targets, SDGs, Aichi Targets would be biodiversity targets would be pushed vigourously. Towards this end ecologists would be attached to various decision making bodies on a regular basis such as in Ministries, Departments, Boards, PSUs, Planning Departments, District Planning Committees, urban development authorities, local bodies and panchayats

air emissions is already being addressed by a variety of techniques and technologies including promoting mass transport, NMVs, electrical vehicles. The Govt. would energize these efforts

If political parties could include the above statement of intentions in their manifestoes they would emerge as being truly sensitive to the well being of India.