The third meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) was convened by the prime minister in the national capital on Tuesday. Swami Gyan Swaroop Sanada, one of the exper members, was absent as he has been on a fast protest to put pressure on the government to take urgent action to clean the Ganga.

Swami Sanada again sat on an indefinite fast giving up water on April 12 alleging the government of not standing upto the assurances it made. Delhi Police arrested him the next day and took him to the AIIMS.

All NGRBA members, including the chief ministers of the five member states and seven representatives of different religious sects (invited by the government) were present in the meeting. Swami Avimukteshwaranada, spiritual guru of Swami Sanada, was also present in the meeting, which lasted five hours.

Prime minister Manmohan Singh in his opening speech admitted that the past efforts to clean Ganga have not been successful. He said that the NGRBA was set to “restore the pristine glory of the Ganga river” and that the Indian government was “committed to work purposefully in this direction as a top priority”.

He informed that the seven IITs roped in to prepare a comprehensive River Basin Management Plan for the Ganga river has already submitted five initial reports. He also urged the states to send proposals for new projects to clean the river.

Saying that the industrial toxic waste amounts for the 20 percent of the pollution, the prime minister said that the state pollution control boards should monitor the compliance of effluent discharge standards by such industries. “Action must be taken against the defaulting industries by the state boards under the powers delegated to them by the central government. I would request the state governments to strengthen the relevant enforcement mechanisms,” he said.

The PM said that projects with an outlay of more than Rs. 2600 crore have been sanctioned so far under the NGRBA in the States of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal for creating sewer networks, sewage treatment plants,  sewage pumping stations, electric crematoria, community toilets and  development of river fronts.

Mentioning the study conducted by IIT Roorkee and an assessment done by the Wildlife Institute of India on cumulative impact of hydroelectric projects on aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity in the Alaknanda and Bhagirathi basins in Uttarakhand, the prime minister said that the issue of environmental flow requirement (as studied and recommended by the IIT Roorkee Committee) as well as the minimum flow required to sustain riverine ecology (recommended by the Wildlife Institute of India) should be examined by a multi-disciplinary group, including the concerned state governments.

While the meeting was going on, the team of Swami Sananda called the meeting a mere eyewash and alleged that the government is not being responsible in taking any decisions. They said that the invitees were all religious teacher who doesn’t have technical knowledge, and that the government will force illogical decision on the people.

Although, at the end of the meeting, prime minister assured that the government will take decision only after hearing the concerns of Swami Sanada.