The Union Cabinet under the
Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approval the River Ganga
(Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016. The Order lays
down a new institutional structure for policy and implementation in fast track
manner and empowers National Mission for Clean Ganga to discharge its functions
in an independent and accountable manner. It has been decided to
grant a Mission status to the Authority with corresponding powers under
Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to take cognizance of the provision of the
said Act and follow up thereon. Similarly, there is adequate delegation of
financial and administrative powers which will distinctly establish NMCG as
both responsibility and accountability centre and effectively accelerate the
process of project implementation for Ganga Rejuvenation.
Salient Features:
Briefly, the Order
envisages:
1. Creation
of the National Council for River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and
Management), as an Authority under the Chairperson of Hon’ble Prime Minister,
in place of the existing NGRBA for overall responsibility for superintendence
of pollution prevention and rejuvenation of river Ganga Basin.
2. Setting
up of an Empowered Task Force chaired by Hon’ble Minister of Water Resources,
River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation to ensure that the
Ministries, Departments and State Governments concerned have:
§ an
action plan with specific activities, milestones, and timeliness for
achievement of the objective of rejuvenation and protection of River Ganga,
§ a
mechanism for monitoring implementation of its action plans.
It will also ensure co-ordination
amongst the Ministries and Departments and State Governments concerned for
implementation of its action plans in a time bound manner.
3. Declaration
of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) as an Authority with powers to issue
directions and also to exercise the powers under the Environment (Protection)
Act, 1986 to enable it to carry out efficiently its mandate. The
NMCG will have a two-tier management structure with a Governing Council (GC),
to be chaired by DG, NMCG. Below the GC, there will be an Executive Committee
(EC) constituted out of the GC, to be chaired by the DG, NMCG.
NMCG
will comply with the decisions and directions of the National Ganga Council and
implement the Ganga Basin Management Plan approved by it; co-ordinate and carry
out all activities necessary for rejuvenation and protection of River Ganga and
its tributaries.
4. At
the State level, it is proposed to create the State Ganga Committees in each of
the defined States as Authority, to function as Authorities in respect of each
State and perform the superintendence, direction and control over the District
Ganga Protection Committees under their jurisdiction.
5. Similarly,
the District Ganga Committees in each of the Ganga Bank Districts will carry
out the assigned tasks as an Authority at the district level, to take
cognizance of local threats and needs of river Ganga and conceptualise such
measures as necessary to ensure overall quality of water in river Ganga and
monitor various projects being implemented.
The proposed
structure is to be implemented through the subordinate legislation route by
issue of an Order invoking the provisions under Section 3 of Environment (Protection)
Act, 1986 (29 of 1986) relating to creation of authorities to achieve its
objectives.
The other main features of the proposal
are as follows:
§ This will give
more teeth to the NMCG for Clean Ganga for the environmental
protection/rejuvenation of River Ganga. It will also ensure proper
co-ordination with the local bodies and compliance with the directions of NMCG
for pollution abatement of the river Ganga.
§ NMCG will,
however, take action only in the event when required action is not taken by
CPCB. CPCB shall also take action jointly with NMCG under the provisions of
said Act.
§ A special focus
of the revamped structure would be to maintain required ecological flows in the
river Ganga with the aim of ensuring water quality and environmentally
sustainable development.
For taking up fast track creation
of sewerage treatment infrastructure in Ganga basin, an innovative model based
on Hybrid Annuity has also been approved. This will ensure that the
infrastructure created under the project is operational on a sustainable basis.
In order to ensure transparency
and cost effectiveness, a provision for concurrent audit, safety audits,
research institutions and financial framework has been made.
Background:
The Ganga Action Plan (GAP)
Phase-I was launched in 1985 and later GAP Phase-II was initiated in 1993 with
the objective of improving the water quality of river Ganga and was later
expanded to include some of its tributaries also. In May, 2015, the Government
approved the Namami Gange programme as a comprehensive mechanism to take up
initiatives for rejuvenation of river Ganga and its tributaries as a Central
Sector Scheme with hundred per cent funding by the Union Government. The
programme, despite making moderate gains in arresting the declines in water
quality, had certain limitations in implementation.
Although, the NMCG has been
functional as a registered Society since 2012 its role has been largely limited
to fund the projects to implementing organisations. It neither had the mandate
to take cognizance of various threats to river Ganga nor the powers to issue
directions to the concerned authorities/polluters. While the organisation has
been made responsible as custodian of river Ganga in both public eye as well as
various courts, the mission is grossly ill-equipped to handle such
expectations.
It is expected that the move will
ensure
effective abatement of pollution and rejuvenation of the River Ganga; maintain
ecological flows in the River; impose restrictions on polluting industries; and
carry out inspections to ensure compliance. In addition, it is proposed to
maintain and disseminate data and carry out research on the condition of the
river.
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AKT/VBA/SH