India News | Initiative Launched to Make Cities in Ganga Basin Water Sensitive

New Delhi, Jul 27 (PTI) The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on Tuesday launched a capacity-building initiative on "making water sensitive cities in Ganga basin", aimed at improving river health and flows.

The key focus areas of the programme will be water sensitive urban design and planning, urban water efficiency and conservation, decentralised wastewater treatment and local reuse, urban groundwater management and urban water bodies and lake management.

Launching the initiative, NMCG Director General Rajiv Ranjan Mishra emphasised the need for respecting traditions and suggested focusing on the basics of water cycle in urban areas.

The NMCG is a body under the Jal Shakti Ministry that has been working on the rejuvenation of the Ganga and its tributaries.

Mishra stressed the need for protecting, conserving and restoring ecosystem and not just pollution abatement. He also shared insights about the Jal Shakti Ministry's 'Catch the Rain' initiative for rainwater harvesting.

"There is a huge need for public spaces in urban spaces. What could be better than river fronts which connects community with water bodies in cities,” he said.

He also emphasised on how cities have largely been held responsible for the deteriorated state of rivers, and therefore, will need to play a vital role in the rejuvenation efforts as well.

There is need to mainstream river sensitive approach while planning for the cities.

He also mentioned about the “River Cities Alliance” which will provide a unique platform for river cities to collaborate for collectively achieving river rejuvenation through sustainable development and capacity building.

Suresh Kumar Rohilla, Senior Director of CSE, said the aim of the programme is capacity building and action research for promoting sustainable urban water management for improved river health in Ganga basin cities.

Sunita Narain, Director General of CSE, highlighted the impact of climate change on rivers and hydrology. She said the intensity of rain has increased over the years but the number of rainy days has reduced, making water management a crucial subject.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)