Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on August 16 presided over the event ‘Yamuna Par Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ organised by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in New Delhi along River Yamuna.
- This event marked the launch of many new initiatives under Arth Ganga concept, enunciated by the Prime Minister to get the river-people connect through the economic bridge to ensure sustainability to the activities under “Namami Gange”.
New initiatives
- Jalaj initiative was launched under Arth Ganga at 26 locations out of the proposed 75 locations proposed during this year on the main stem of Ganga basin states – Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Jalaj is being implemented in association with Wildlife Institute of India.
- Jalaj is visualized as a model for livelihood diversification, through promotion of local produce.
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between NMCG and Sahakar Bharati to achieve the vision of a sustainable and viable economic development by public participation.
- A tourism related portal ImAvatar was launched to promote livelihood opportunities along the Ganga basin by promoting Arth Ganga initiative through tourism, marketing of local products, both agriculture and handicrafts, sustainability of ghats and other assets created by NMCG was also launched on the occasion.
About Arth-Ganga concept
- Arth-Ganga concept, espoused by the Prime Minister during the 1st National Ganga Council meeting in 2019 in Kanpur, is being developed into an economic model for sustainable river rejuvenation.
- At the helm of the Arth Ganga concept is people-river connect that aims to firmly establish a collaborative relationship between the river and the people.
- The central idea of “Arth Ganga” is linking people and Ganga through the bridge of economics in line with the slogan of “Banking on River Ganga”.
Under Arth Ganga, six verticals are being worked upon:
- a) Zero Budget Natural Farming that includes chemical-free farming for 10 kms on either side of the river, generating “more income, per drop”, ‘Gobar Dhan’ for farmers,
- b) Monetization and Reuse of Sludge &Wastewater that envisages reuse of treated water for irrigation; industrial purposes and revenue generation for ULBs,
- c) Livelihood Generation Opportunities such as ‘Ghat Mein Haat’, promotion of local products, Ayurveda, medicinal plants, capacity building of volunteers like Ganga Praharis,
- d) Public Participation to ensure increased synergies between stakeholders,
- e) Cultural Heritage &Tourism that looks to introduce boat tourism through community jettis, promotion of yoga, adventure tourism etc. and Ganga Artis and
- f) Institutional Building by enhancing the local capacities for better decentralized water governance.
