- Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India is responsible for development, conservation and management of water as a national resource.
- India has 4% of water resources of the world, while it has to support 16% of world population and 15% of livestock.
- The annual precipitation including snowfall, which is the main source of water in the country, is estimated to be of the order of 4000 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM).
- The estimated precipitation during the monsoon season (June to September) is of the order of 3000 BCM.
NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME
- An Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission called “Namami Gange” has been proposed to be set up and a sum of Rs.2,037 crores in 2014-15 Budget.
- In addition a sum of Rs.100 crores has been allocated for developments of Ghats and beautification of River Fronts at Keclarnath, Haridwar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Patna and Delhi in the current financial year.
- Accordingly, Namami Gange approaches Ganga Rejuvenation by consolidating the existing ongoing efforts and paving for a concrete action plan for future.
- Recognizing the multi-sectorial, multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder nature of the Ganga Rejuvenation challenge, the key Ministries comprising of (a) WR, RD & GR, (b) Environment, Forests & Climate Change, (c) Shipping, (cl) Tourism, (e) Urban Development, (f) Drinking Water supply and Sanitation and Rural Development have been working together since June, 2014 to arrive at an action plan.
- The long—term vision will emanate from the Ganga River Basin Management Plan being prepared by the Consortium of 7 IITs, first version of which is likely to be available by the end of this year.
Following are proposed to be taken up under Namami Gange :
- Nirmal Dhara-ensuring sustainable municipal sewage management
- Nirmal Dhara—managing sewage from Rural Areas
- Nirmal Dhara-managing Industrial discharge
- Aviral Dhara
- Ensuring ecological rejuvenation by conservation of aquatic life and biodiversity
- Promotion of Tourism and Shipping in a rational and sustainable manner
- Knowledge Management on Ganga through Ganga Knowledge Centre leading to a Ganga University of River Sciences.
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