Experts demand effective policy for river conservation

Environmentalists demand that the government should come out with a policy and law for the protection of rivers on World Rivers Day. It is observed on last Sunday of every September.

Experts allege that the central government has “absolutely no effective policy, law or programme for the protection of Indian rivers.”  The government should declare certain rivers in each state as “no go areas” to ensure that they are left in their natural state by not encouraging dams, hydropower projects or similar structures on them, said experts from the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP).

 SANDRP is an informal network of organisations and individuals working on issues related with water sector.

“This is the time to take stock of how we are treating our rivers and the communities that depend on them. And the scene looks bleak today. Indian rivers are so threatened that if they were species instead of our life support systems, they would have been declared as endangered,” said Himanshu Thakkar, member of SANDRP.

SANDRP said, “Dams, hydropower projects, diversions, pollution, floodplains and riverbed encroachment, and bad water management practises have destroyed rivers and the ecosystem goods and services they provide to millions.”

Experts believe that there is an urgent need to protect the remaining rivers in India with stringent legislations like the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in the US, Heritage Rivers Act of Canada and Wild Rivers Act in Australia.

Activists demand that the government should gazette the notification declaring 135 km of Bhagirathi, from Gangotri to Uttarkashi, as an eco-sensitive zone as it has been pending with the ministry of environment and forests for over a year.

Other demands include making existing constructions at rivers, fish-friendly and undertaking a bio-diversity assessment of all major rivers before further projects are cleared.