ARTH-GANGA
1.Context
Asok Kumar, the Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, spoke about the Arth Ganga model during his virtual keynote address to the Stockholm World Water Week 2022 on August 24.
2.Key Points
- It "Strives to contribute at least 3 per cent of the GDP from the Ganga Basin itself.
- Its interventions are by India's commitments to the UN Sustainable development goals.
- The concept can be summarised as a river-people connection through the economic bridge to ensure the sustainability of these activities under "Namami Gange", the flagship programme of the Government to clean Ganga and its tributaries.
3.What is Arth-Ganga?
- PM Modi first introduced the concept during the first National Ganga Council meeting in Kanpur in 2019, where he urged for a shift from Namami Ganga.
- The Union Government's flagship project to clean the Ganga, to the Model of Arth-Ganga.
- It focuses on the Sustainable development of the Ganga and its surrounding areas, by focusing on economic activities related to the river.
- At its core model seeks to use economics to bridge people with the river.
4.Six vertical features
- Zero Budget Natural Farming involves chemical-free farming on 10 km on either side of the river and the promotion of cow dung as fertiliser through the GODBARdhan scheme.
- The Monetization and Reuse of Sludge and Wastewater seek to reuse treated water for irrigation, industries and revenue generation for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
- It will also involve Livelihood Generation Opportunities, by creating haats where people can sell local products, medicinal plants and Ayurveda.
- To increase Public Participation by increasing synergies between the stakeholders involved with the river.
- This model also wants to promote the cultural heritage and tourism of Ganga and its surroundings, through boat tourism, adventure sports and conducting Yoga activities.
- The model seeks to promote institutional building by empowering local administration for improved water governance.
5.Recent initiatives
| It includes the Virtual launch of the Jalaj initiative at 26 locations in Ganga Basin, the main stem states, an MoU with Sahakar Bharati to achieve the vision of a sustainable and viable economic development by public participation and a tourism-related portal ImAvatar to Promote livelihood opportunities along the Ganga basin by Promoting Arth Ganga initiative through tourism. |
6.World Water Week
- World Water Week is observed the last week of August every year.
- It is organised by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) to address the global water issues and related concerns of international development.
- The Theme for 2022 is "Seeing the Unsee: The Value of Water".
7.World Water Day
- World Water Day is celebrated on March 22 every year to highlight the importance of water.
- The day aims to support the achievements of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
- It inspires people around the world to learn more about water-related issues and to take action to make a difference.
- The Theme of 2022 is "Groundwater: Making the invisible visible".
- The Theme was decided by UN-water at its 30th meeting in Rome. It was proposed by the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC).
- It inspires people around the world to learn more about water-related issues and to take action to make a difference.
8.UN World Water Development Report 2022
- The 2022 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report (UNWWDR 2022) entitled Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible" describes the challenges and opportunities associated with the development, management and governance of groundwater across the world.
- Groundwater accounts for 99 per cent of all liquid freshwater. It has the potential to provide societies with tremendous social, economic and environmental benefits and opportunities.
- The groundwater already provides almost half of the total water used for domestic purposes including drinking water.
- This natural resource is often poorly understood and consequently undervalued, mismanaged and even abused.
- Groundwater is central to the fight against poverty and achieving food and water security and even the creation of jobs and socio-economic development.
- The Asia-Pacific region is the largest groundwater abstractor in the world, containing seven out of the ten countries that extract most groundwater.
- The present dependence on groundwater will only increase due to increasing water demand by all sectors and increasing disruption in rainfall patterns.
- The report states that it all starts with making the invisible visible and the action would require strong and concerted efforts to manage and use it sustainably.
- Unlocking the full potential of groundwater will require strong and concerted efforts to manage and use it sustainably and it all starts by making the invisible, visible.
9.India's initiatives on water issues
- The Former President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind presented the third National Water Awards and launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Cath the Rain campaign 2022 in New Delhi on March 29, 2022.
- To make water everyone's business and to make the Jal Andolan a Jan Andolan a mass movement.
- The Government of India launched the "Jal Shakti Abhiyan" and the Jal Jeevan Mission in the year 2019.
- Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain campaign was launched by the Prime Minister on World Water Day last year.
- It was taken up in all districts in rural as well s urban areas of the country during the pre-monsoon and monsoon periods.
9.1.Atal Bhujal Yojana (Atal Jal)
- It is a Central Sector Scheme, with a focus on community participation, demand-side interventions and convergence of ongoing schemes for sustainable groundwater management are being implemented.
- The approach is broadly based on the success stories and verified field initiatives by non-government and civil society organisations in community-led groundwater management in various parts of the country.
9.2.National Water Mission
- In a bid to draw attention to critical aspects of water and to promote dialogue and information sharing among participants on a variety of water-related topics have initiated a monthly seminar series " Water Talk" on March 22, 2019, the World Water Day.
- Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has instituted National Water Awards and "Water Heroes-share your Stories" contests to incentivise good practices in water conservation and groundwater recharge.
9.3..Har Khet Ko Pani (HKKP)
| It is a component of PMKSY. Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) of the Water Bodies Scheme was launched which aims to revive irrigation potential by improving and restoration of water bodies by enhancing the tank storage capacity, along with other multiple objectives such as groundwater recharge, increased availability of drinking water, improvement of the catchment of tank commands etc. |
9.4.Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation
| It focuses on the development of basic urban infrastructure in the Mission cities in the sectors of water supply, sewerage and septage management, stormwater drainage, green spaces and parks and non-motorised urban transport. |
9.5.Jal Jeevan Mission-Har Ghar Jal
| The Government of India, in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission-Har Ghar Jal, which aims at providing potable water in adequate quantity of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis to every rural household including tribal areas of the country through tap water connection by 2024. |
10.15th Finance Commission report
In its report for 2021-26 has earmarked 60 per cent for national priorities like drinking water supply and rainwater harvesting and sanitation out of the total grants earmarked for Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI).
It emphasises sustainable and efficient water use and has suggested three ways to reduce and rationalise water use in agriculture.
- By replacing free or subsidised power supply for agriculture with direct benefit transfers (DBT).
- Encouraging the use of new technologies such as drip, sprinkler and sensor-based irrigation to get more crops per drop and
- By conserving and rainwater harvesting to increase the availability of surface as well as groundwater. The report has recommended incentive-based grants to states that maintain and augment groundwater stock and maintain a check on any fall in the water table.
16.Namami Gange
- Namami Gange Programme is an Integrated Conservation Mission approved as a Flagship Programme by the Union Government in June 2014.
- It aims to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution and conservation and rejuvenation of the National River Ganga.
- It is being operated under the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
- The programme is being implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and its state counterpart organizations i.e State Program Management Groups (SPMGs).
- The major areas of the Programme are Sewage Treatment Infrastructure, River-Front Development, River-Surface Cleaning, Biodiversity, Afforestation, Public Awareness, Industrial Effluent Monitoring and Ganga Gram.
Source:indianexpress
