REVITALISATION OF INDIAN RIVERS

Govt. Would Undertake The Rejuvenation Of 13 Major Rivers

    The central government has announced that it would undertake the rejuvenation of 13 major rivers in the country which include Himalayan rivers (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, Sutlej, Yamuna, Brahmaputra), Peninsular rivers (Narmada, Godavari, Mahanadi, Krishna, Cauvery) and the Inland drained river ‘Luni’. The projects outlay for 5 years stands at Rs. 19,338 crores, based on the suggestions in the Draft Policy Recommendation (DPR) of the Rally for Rivers (RfR) movement, a campaign spearheaded by Sadhguru, the founder of Isha Foundation. 

      The thirteen rivers, details of which have been compiled in these DPRs, are spread over 24 states and 2 UTs. These rivers collectively cover a total basin area of 18,90,110 sq. km that represents 57.45% of the geographical area of the country. The length of 13 rivers including 202 tributaries within the delineated riverscapes is 42,830 km. The largest amount has been sanctioned for the Yamuna (Rs 3,869 crore) and the smallest for Chenab river (Rs 376 crore). There are three major landscapes along the rivers – natural, agricultural and urban – and plans have been created specifically for these different landscapes including specific plans for each river.

       The ICFRE plan looks at rejuvenating the rivers primarily by creating riparian forests, or planting trees along the river. According to the DPRs, a riparian forest functions “as the ‘natural buffers’ and ‘biofilters’ and supplement key processes such as the ‘self-regulation’ and self-purification.” The government hopes these forests will increase the country’s scope to sequester carbon, by creating carbon sinks to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide. According to the DPRs, the planned planting of trees for river rejuvenation will sequester 50.21 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent after 10 years, while after 20 years they are expected to sequester 74.76 million tonnes of CO2e. CO2 equivalent (or CO2e) means CO2 or any other greenhouse gas having the same global warming potential as CO2.

         The different models of forestry plantations including timber species, medicinal plants, grasses, shrubs and fuel fodder and fruit trees are aimed to augment water, ground water recharge and contain erosion. A total of 667 treatment and plantation models are proposed in all the 13 DPRs and in all, 283 treatment models have been proposed for the natural landscapes, 97 treatments models in agriculture landscapes and 116 different treatment models in urban landscapes.      

            In 2016, India had pledged to create a carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030. A study has found, however, that India had overestimated the area available for the afforestation and forest restoration required to meet this goal. Nonetheless, the river rejuvenation projects would bring India closer to achieving its target. Under the Bonn Challenge, India had also pledged in 2015 to restore five million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

                  The DPRs oscillate in tandem with PM Narendra Modi’s vision of seeing the next 25 years as “Amrit Kaal”. The reports will set a target of focused expansion of country’s green cover for upcoming 10-20 years, all in order to gift our future generations a ‘Green India’ through the ‘Van Bhagidari and Jan Bhagidari’ of the current generation.