Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh has ruled out any new dams on the Ganga river. Rajendra Singh, India's waterman, said after meeting Ramesh that  “the minister has assured us that new dams will not get permission to come up on the Ganga.”

Singh and a group of civil society activists met the minister on Wednesday after a three-day worshop, Yamuna and Ganga Panchayat, in New Delhi  in which scientists, ministry officials and civil society members participated. They impressed the minister on the need to  maintain the natural flow of the Ganga river to maintain its sanctity.

Singh said that the minister had assured them that the environmental flow of Ganga would be maintained at all places. “The minister also said that the local communities will be involved at the planning and decision making stages of the Ganga and Yamuna Action Plan.” The government acknowledged that the previous action plans were not successful because people and local community were not involved.