Experts hope that this small kitty of about Rs 14 crores for each city will be used to develop the riverfront as a conservation space and not to reclaim or concretize floodplains. There is disappointment however that there is no push to deal with extremely poor water quality in Yamuna.
There was controversy recently in Delhi when teams of bureaucrats were sent to Gujarat by Lt Governor to study the Sabarmati riverfront development model — and an elaborate process of preparing study reports and action points to be replicated followed in Delhi. But several scientists including a government scientist C R Babu, DU professor emeritus and chairman of the state-level expert appraisal committee said it was a "ridiculous" idea to replicate the Sabarmati model in Delhi. "The budget shows that there is no interest in rejuvenating the river. Why do we need ghats? I have done several inspections of these ghats where people often perform religious activities and pour all the waste in the river. The fecal coliform levels will go up dramatically if people are allowed to use ghats. We saw this recently on the banks of Yamuna in Kaleshwar, Haryana. In fact they could save the river if they just left it on its own," said Babu reacting to the budget.
He raised concerns about "beautification" work as well. "We know that riverfront development is essentially concretizing. The ghats too act as resistance to flood waters," Babu added. He stressed that the funds should be used for an integrated river conservation plan that doesn't deal with segments of the river in various cities but the health of the entire river.
Babu also frowned at the "Jal Marg Vikas" project on Ganga for navigation between Allahabad and Haldia in the budget. "Where is the water in Ganga or Yamuna for navigation?" he asked.
AL Ramanathan, JNU scientist and hydrology experts also stressed that more ghats can be allowed only if visitors or pilgrims are restricted from throwing any waste or bathe in the river. "We cannot make river banks entirely impermeable. The river linking project can be good provided we plan cautiously," he said.
Himanshu Thakkar of South Asia Network of River, Dams and People (SANDRP) said "we need the river first, not ghats. The funds should have been for the river. Creating navigation facilities on Ganga would mean barrages and dredging which is clearly not advisable. On the Renuka dam project there is an NGT stay and without a statutory clearance I can't imagine why they should push for it." he said. The Renuka project was shot down by former environment minister Jairam Ramesh as it would involve felling lakhs of trees in an eco-sensitive area. Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan raised concerns too about the ecological impact of inter-linking rivers, which has been allocated Rs 100 crore.
The silver lining, they hope is a push for renewable energy, if any from the Rs 200 crore allotted for power reforms in Delhi. The Green Energy Corridor project may also solar uptake in Delhi.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/followceleb.cms?alias=Lt Governor,Jairam Ramesh,Himanshu Thakkar,Green energy,Union Budget 2014
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