For cleaning of rivers, a ...

For cleaning of rivers, a shared vision document is to be developed along with its dissemination for awareness creation amongst all stakeholders concerned so as to have a mass movement and people’s participation from all riparian States concerned. For developing coordinated actions, establishment of River Basin Organization at least for the major river basins, whose drainage areas are shared by two or more States at the first instant is to be made. Each riparian State may be made responsible for cleaning of the river stretches that are passing through its administrative boundary/jurisdictions and keeping them pollution free. Even the responsibility can further be sub-divided into zone wise and block wise. The action document may also be prepared in a time bound and phased manner keeping in view that any delay in action may further aggravate the problems, which may ultimately lead to become either impossible or more tedious for reversing from the severely polluted scenarios into that of a purified one. We should welcome the National Green Tribunal’s decision to impose heavy fines on those found guilty of polluting the river premises by way of disposal of untreated sewerages coming especially from urban conglomerations, wastewater and effluents discharging from industrial units and littering of wastes materials by individuals. Performance evaluation and time bound monitoring should also be in built in the vision document so that the accomplishment could be achieved within the time target, say by the end of first year -2015 by 50%, second year- 2016 by 80% and third year- 2017 by 100%. With a will and determination in action, the rivers of India can be made as pollution free and life lines for livelihoods and life sustenance.