Ganga Action Plan (GAP), Background, Overview, Objectives, and Way Forward

The Ganga Action Plan was an initiative taken by the Indian Government to protect rivers from rapid pollution due to an increase in industrialization and urbanization. The main objective was to safeguard the water bodies and prevent the outbreak of deadly waterborne diseases. The GAP has significant importance as it was the first of its kind initiative to spread awareness among the masses and influence the adoption of government policies to control water pollution.

Related Course: BSc in Environmental Science

Aspirants preparing for the UPSC IAS Exam would find the topic and the article very helpful and useful. Read the full article to know more about the GAP in detail.

Ganga Action Plan (GAP) - Overview

The Ganga Action Plan was started in the year 1986 to abandon pollution from the river Ganga, by Rajiv Gandhi. The Ganga Action Plan is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme under which the National River Ganga Basin Authority was established and Ganga was declared the National River of India. The authority is headed by the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers of all states in which the river Ganga flows.

The Ganga Action Plan was implemented in 2 phases:

• Phase 1 was implemented in 1985 and covered the then three states - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal.
• Phase 2 began in 1993 and covered seven states - Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi and Haryana. The national river conservation plan also began under the same program in this phase. It also included tributaries of the Ganga like Yamuna, Mahananda, Gomti, and Damodar.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) was in charge of designing and implementing GAP. Central Ganga Authority (CGA) came into existence under the Environment Protection Act 1986, led by the Prime Minister of India.

Ganga Action Plan Phase 1 - Details

• Phase 1 of the Ganga Action Plan was initiated on 14th January 1986 and ended on 31st March 2000
• The Ganga Action Plan is a 100% centrally sponsored scheme under which the National River Ganga Basin Authority was established
• The total cost of GAP Phase 1 was INR 452 Cr.
• According to the CPCB survey of the Ganga River Basin in 1984, the total sewage generated from 25 Class-1 towns in 1985 was estimated at around 1340 MLD
• Due to insufficient funds and resources, pollution reduction works corresponding to 882 MLD only (65% at that time) were included under GAP Phase 1
• To accomplish this, 261 pollution reduction projects in three States - Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Bihar were sanctioned for INR 462 Cr.
• A sewage Treatment Capacity Plant of 865 MLD was created under this phase

Ganga Action Plan Phase 2 - Details

Due to a scarcity of funds and resources, Ganga Action Plan Phase 1 could not cover the full load, the Ganga Action Plan Phase 2 was then approved between 1993 and 1996

• The implementation of Ganga Action Plan (GAP) 2 began on 1st April 2001
• Phase 2 of the GAP included Ganga tributaries as well - Yamuna, Mahananda, Gomti, and Damodar
• GAP 2 was extended to other rivers in India under a separate scheme called - The National River Conservation Plan (NRCP)
• After the launch of NRCP in 1995, Ganga Action Plan Phase 2 was merged with the same
• GAP 2 covered seven states - Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, and Haryana
• Initially, the Central Government funded the entire plan but later the ratio was changed to 70:30 between the Central and State Governments

Ganga Action Plan Background - Why was it Needed?

Several reasons led to the implementation of the Ganga Action Plan and the major reason was an increase in water pollution. The other reasons are listed in detail below:

• The increase in Industrialization and Urbanization in the late 70s led to a significant increase in the waste being discharged into the water bodies
• This increased the chances of waterborne diseases like Cholera, Typhoid, etc., and reduced the availability of fresh drinking water to the masses
• The National River of India, the Ganga, saw a rapid increase in contamination due to open defecation, discharge of industrial waste, etc.
• Hence, the Ganga Action Plan was initiated by the Government in 1979 but could only be initiated in 1985 after a detailed survey of the River Ganga by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)

Ganga Action Plan Objectives

• The major objective at the time of launching was to improve the quality of water in River Ganga to acceptable standards by reducing the waste being discharged from industries
• Restoration of Biodiversity along the course of River Ganga
• Installation of Sewage Treatment Plants to reduce the harm caused by the direct release of sewage into the river
• Provide low-cost sanitation to prevent open defecation
• Prevent drainage of sewage directly into the river by redirecting the drainage flow
• Rehabilitation of species like- soft-shelled turtles for pollution abatement of river Ganga

Ganga Action Plan Key Aspects

From a UPSC Point Of View, the Ganga Action Plan is an important topic. The highlights of the GAP have been tabulated as follows. 

Ganga Action Plan Achievements

• Improvement in the quality of water of river Ganga over the pre-1985 period
• Out of 764 total projects sanctioned under GAP 2, 652 were successfully implemented and completed till 2014
• 35 sewage treatment plants were planned to be built in 5 states
• Admitting that we need to clean the river Ganga and making a sincere effort to achieve it is the greatest achievement

Ganga Action Plan - A hit or a miss?

Despite the several achievements of the Ganga Action Plan (GAP), the overall project could not achieve its full potential and was a missed opportunity. The failure of the Ganga Action Plan can be attributed to several key reasons.

Inadequate Sewage Treatment Infrastructure: Due to poor funds and resources, and a lack of coordination among the authorities there was a lack of proper infrastructure for the sewage treatment plant and the plant could not be built. The aim behind this was to improve the sewage treatment capacity

No Public Awareness: Since there was a lack of public awareness and community participation, the plan could not be implemented the way it was intended to

Industrial Pollution: Another major reason for the failure of the GAP was the negligence of the industries regarding pollution. Despite the rules and regulations in place, few industries failed to comply with those and released harmful substances into the River Ganga

Lack of Governance and Enforcement: A lack of stringent regulations and monitoring mechanisms allowed the violators to go unpunished, leading to the damage caused in the river

Excess Pollution: The sheer magnitude of pollution made it difficult to cover all the areas included in the GAP and implement comprehensive solutions

No Long-Term Vision: The Ganga Action Plan was a great initiative but lacked a long-term vision and sustainability. The short-term approach led to temporary improvements but failed to create an impact at a large scale

Read More:

Ganga River Basic Information

Way Forward

Though the overall outcome of the Ganga Action Plan was not as successful as planned, there certainly have been some positive outcomes. For the first time, the GAP raised an issue with the pollution of rivers in India. It not only focused on sewage treatment but also aimed at the conservation of biodiversity of the river ecosystem.

Some valuable lessons learned from the Ganga Action Plan are:

• Proper feasibility study together with implementation planning is the pre-requisite for the success of such a grand project
• Use of the latest technologies and creative ways to counter river pollution must be encouraged
• A proper monitoring mechanism should be set in place to ensure the proper implementation of the project
• The general public, civil societies, and all other related stakeholders must cooperate fully as it is not possible to make the project successful with just one stakeholder - the administration
• The successful implementation of the river cleaning projects must be studied at a worldwide level in detail