Protection of River Ganga - Issues and Concerns and the Need for Legislation

Abstract

The principal object of the paper is to highlight the need for protection of River Ganga Basin in India.

The paper deals with the concept of River Basin management worldwide and various initiatives taken in India. The major part of the paper discusses about the river Ganga and management of its basin, as it is the national river of India. In later part of the paper, an analysis has been done on existing legislations which are directly or indirectly related to river Ganga Initiatives like Ganga Action Plan I and II have also been analysed within the scope of the paper. The paper also discuss the importance of implementing an adequate and productive River Basin Management Plan and furthermore identifies lacunas in present Ganga Basin Management and other significant problems. The paper indicates the need for a separate legislation solely on protection of Ganga River Basin and for the sake of its development.

Keywords: Basin Management, Ganga Pollution, Conservaiton, Protection