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Charter of All India Ganga Yamuna Panchayat submitted to Minister of Environment, 8-10 February 2010
A Report


In its concluding session on 10th February, the all India Ganga Yamuna Panchayat organized by Tarun Bharat Sangh and Manushi Sangathan presented a Charter of Demands to Minister of Environment, Mr Jairam Ramesh for the effective implementation of the New Ganga and Yamuna Action Plans. The Panchayat was inaugurated on February 8th by Shri Digvijay Singh, General Secretary, All India Congress Committee at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library which hosted the Panchayat.

Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati of Jyotirmath presided over its proceedings on all three days as representative of the Shankracharya Swaroopanand ji.

The Panchayat began by felicitating Swami Shivananda of Matri Sadan in Haridwar who along with young sanyasis of his ashram succeeded in pressuring the Uttarakhand government to restore the Kumbh area to its 1998 status in order to stop the illegal mining on Ganga river bed in the Kumbh Kshetra of Haridwar through a 107 day Satyagraha. The young sanyasis of Matri Sadan did not give up their fast even when arrested and put behind bars on trumped up criminal charges.

While expressing its appreciation of the intervention made by Minister of Environment in reminding the Uttarakhand Government that the ongoing mining in the Ganga riverbed was against environmental laws, the Panchayat expressed deep concern over the fact that the mining in the riverbed at Haridwar has not yet stopped. That is why one of the young sanyasis of Matri Sadan, brahmachari Dayanand is still continuing his satyagraha despite being admitted in hospital. The Panchayat urged the Minister of Environment to take effective steps to ensure that the Uttarakhand government stops this illegal mining forthwith.

The Panchayat also expressed solidarity with Baba Nagnath-- (Samshan Peethadheeshwar), Manikarnika Ghat, Varanasi—whose fast unto death has today entered 572nd day to protest against the denial of fresh waters of mother Ganga to the ancient holy city of Varanasi on account of Tehri and other dams as well as numerous other obstructions that stop the aviral flow of Ganga.

The Panchayat witnessed participation of river experts, environmental engineers, members of Ganga Yamuna Jalbiradri from different parts of India as well as members of the Prime Minister’s National Ganga Basin Authority and U.P. Ganga Basin Authority.

During the deliberations on the final day, the Environment Minister Mr Jairam Ramesh expressed his helplessness in decommissioning the Loharinag Pala dam since Rs 1,000 crore had already been spent on this project. Therefore, the Government would find it hard to scrap the project. However, he said he was personally convinced that the project would have undesirable consequences. In response, the entire Panchayat endorsed the offer made by Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati representative of H.H. Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Jyotishpeeth and Dwarka Shardapeeth that he would lead a fund raising campaign of the all India Ganga Jalbiradari to recompense the Government to the full extent of Rs 1,000 crore that had been spent on the Loharinag Pala project, if the Government agreed to dismantle the destructive dam. He requested the Minister to convey this decision to the Prime Minister, Finance Minsiter, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Power Minister, Mr Shinde and other concerned ministers and authorities. Swami Avimukteshwaranand said that he was prepared to sign a Memoradum of Understanding with the Government of India on this issue.

The following resolutions were passed unanimously to be presented to the Environment Minister as a Charter of Ganga-Yamuna Panchayat:

1. Rivers anywhere in the world are the lifeline of any society. However, Ganga and Yamuna are unique, having religious and spiritual significance in the hearts and minds of the Indian people. Unfortunately these rivers are dying which is a matter of serious concern not only for the survival of our physical being but the very basis on which our culture, spirituality, dharma and civilization, rests. These dying rivers can be revived and restored as bounties of nature, only when the task is taken up as a sacred mission jointly by sarkar, samaj and sants (the Government, the people and spiritual leaders), in all sincerity as a duty- as dharma- to be accomplished within a targeted time frame.
2. The Panchayat considers it a sacred duty to protect and preserve the pristine purity of Ganga and Yamuna. By focusing on Ganga and Yamuna we do not at all intend to undermine the religious, spiritual, social, cultural importance and significance of numerous other rivers of India. However we feel the process of rejuvenating these two rivers will inevitably catalyze a similar process for all other rivers as well.
3. Ganga and Yamuna are popularly referred to as nurturing mothers; they cannot be treated as mere “resources” to be exploited. The Government should amend the notification of Ganga Yamuna Action Plans to give due respect to the dharmic and spiritual significance of these two rivers have in the hearts and minds of the people of India.
4. The three streams—Bhagirathi, Alakhnanda and Mandakini—must be treated as integral parts of Ganga.
5. The Panchayat is of the firm belief that the protection, revival and rejuvenation of Ganga and Yamuna with all its eco-systems, will not only help in solving the problem of drinking water but will recharge the earth and make water available for rational use in agriculture, thus supporting nation in its endeavor to attain food sovereignty.

1) The Government must:
a) Institute effective and empowered institutional mechanisms for people’s participation in giving direction, implementation as well as monitoring of Ganga Yamuna Action Plans, especially of those living in and around these two rivers.
b) Provide all information regarding these Action Plans in the public domain;Institutionalize effective measures for transparency and accountability right at the outset of these Plans. No money should be spent on these plans till such measures are put in place.
c) Change the nomenclature of the head of the Ganga Basin Authority to “Mukhya Sewak” and all other members as “Sewaks” to remind them that they are trustees on behalf of the people of this unique national and natural heritage.
d) Ensure that all the small rivers that merge into Ganga and Yamuna are given protection under the new Action Plans.
e) Declare a moratorium followed by a total ban on construction of further dams, barrages, artificial embankments, tunnels, express highways and all other activities that enslave or interfere with the flow of Ganga, Yamuna and their tributaries from the point of their origin in Gomukh and Yamunotri to Ganga Sagar.
f) Scrap the dams under construction or in the pipe-line and decommission the already constructed dams in a phased manner within a set time frame as integral parts of Ganga Yamuna Action Plans.
g) Institute a total ban on dumping domestic sewage, solid waste and industrial waste into Ganga and Yamuna: It is not enough that waste and polluted water be treated with chemicals and poured into our sacred rivers. They need to be directed elsewhere for industrial, agricultural and domestic use. Polluted water -treated or untreated –should under no circumstances be dumped into the the rivers Ganga and Yamuna.
h) Declare immediate moratorium followed by a total ban on land use change of flood plains.
i) Declare a permanent and total ban on construction, mining and all such activities detrimental to the health of the river in the catchment areas of the river in the mountains and in the flood plains. Only those activities such as planting trees which enhance the value of floodplains should be permitted.
j) Enact appropriate laws for the protection, preservation and sanctity of river Ganga and its main tributary Yamuna, since Ganga has been officially declared as a “National River”. Violation of this law must be treated as a criminal offence in addition to inviting punitive damages.

2) The new Ganga and Yamuna Action Plans must:
a) Be aimed at ensuring that the waters of Ganga and Yamuna flow aviral: Gamnam, gamnam iti Ganga.” This is a pre condition for Ganga and Yamuna waters to retain the same quality of purity as found at Gangotri and Yamunotri.
b) Promote organic farming in the Ganga Yamuna belt and prevent the use of harmful chemical fertilizers and industrial chemicals which are currently seeping into the ground water and into Ganga Yamuna.
c) Undertake clear demarcation of flood plains all along the course of these rivers on maps as well as on the ground and make this information available in the public domain. This is urgently needed to make citizens aware of the endangered floodplains which need urgent protection and rejuvenation.
d) Undertake emergency measures for catchment area protection and treatment, protection of existing forests, regeneration and reforestation of Himalayan forests as well as river banks all along the course of Ganga and Yamuna with native varieties and panchvati.
e) Implement on an emergency footing soil and water conservation measures and integrated watershed management of the Ganga basin.
f) Ensure rejuvenation of dying ponds, water channels, streams, rivulets, and all the tributaries of Ganga and Yamuna.
g) Assist cities and towns in conserving rain water and reviving their dying water bodies which will recharge their ground water sources for their daily needs instead of forcing them to draw them from distant rivers at great expense and ecological cost. This will eliminate the need for destroying the ecologically imperative aviral flow of the fresh waters of Ganga and Yamuna.
h) Ensure the protection, rejuvenation and revival of the ecological health, flora and fauna and micro organisms of Ganga and Yamuna. These are the most reliable indicators of the health of the river.
i) Undertake active promotion of irrigation methods that involve scientific and rational use of water in agriculture.
j) Bring about effective control on the use of harmful pesticides and insecticides in agriculture which are poisoning both groundwater resources as well as these rivers.

Rajendra Singh (Tarun Bharat Sangh)                                                         Madhu Kishwar (Manushi Sangathan)

 

 

Comments (1) We welcome your comments
 
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Sir,
Subject :- Soliciting your co-operation in fulfilling our sacred mission of cleaning the Yamuna River.
A plan to clean and stop pollution in Yamuna within 7 months.

My,
Aim is to serve the nation in various ways. You must be aware of the pollution being caused due to the disposal of used flowers and other worship materials in our Holy River Yamuna , and carried by all the rivers of India. Our organization, YFF, has undertaken a project to clean the rivers of INDIA starting with The YAMUNA, which will be starting from Delhi .
We have devised a 3 Point Programme to help clean YAMUNA RIVER in DELHI.
A) To stop people from throwing the Ceremonial flowers / Poly bags etc in YAMUNA River.
B)All things being currently thrown in YAMUNA to be collected & a recycling process to be initiated.
C) To organize children currently engaged in coin collecting & rag picking and give them employment & education.

Sir,
I Gopi Dutt want to draw your attention to problem that Delhi has been facing since as long as 10 yrs now. I am talking about the pollution in Yamuna caused by devotional material, Polybags, Flowers etc. Our govt., different NGOs and now Maharaja Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji have put their best efforts to clean up the river.

Sri Sri Maharaja Ji is a spiritual guru he has no desire or want for money or fame. From South Africa to America, Iraq to Kashmir people worship him and follow him. Whole world wants to meet him, seem him and Seek his blessings, still he took over the charge to clean the Yamuna in Delhi from various disposed things. Maharaja Sri did the work with his own hands, he tried cleaning up the river by picking up the disposal on his own. He is the first spiritual guru in the world who left popularity and still tried to clean the Life Line of Delhi – The Yamuna. Do you know why? He did this to awaken Delhi. But did we WAKE UP?

24/4/10 Maharaja Ji finished up his tasks and camps associated with the river and cleaning up river banks. And on 25/4/10 people of Delhi disposed approx. 3,50,000kgs of used hawan samagri, flowers etc. I have some pictures to show this.

The same way other NGOs, NDTV, the CM of Delhi (Yamuna Mei Jaan Dalo) with various programmes and camps have been trying to clean up the Yamuna but due to lack of a disposal sytempeople still turn to Yamuna for disposing the used materials during pujas into the Yamuna. We need a Disposal System that stops people from throwing these materials in the River. Even though Sri Ravi Shankar Ji tried his best to clean up the river but people still dispose off the samagri and flowers into the river which results that the efforst put in by all the people associated with the cleaning up the River in Vain.

We all have been trying to clean it up for the past 10 yrs but it hasn’t stopped yet. Does anyone have a plan to stop this that here is no further need to clean n re-clean the river? The problem is that we only create awareness that people should not pollute the river but there are no measures taken to stop this pollution.

Very soon Delhi is conducting the Common Wealth Games and people from all over the globe are going to travel the city. They talk about Indian Culture which fascinates them, but what are they going to think when they see the flowers used in worshipping God 10 minutes back are in the garbage can or in the river polluting it? What message are we delivering to them? We have to stop this pollution before other nationals start noticing.

I have researched about the whole polluting issues for the past 7 years; have also noticed it in 22 different states. I have found the cause and the Solution of the problem. During my research I have met CM’s of different states and have brought their attention to the issue. I have also met the religious heads of different religions and they have all agreed upon the solution I have now. According to the time limits and need of the hour. They have found my solution to be the best possible way as there is no other option that stops pollution in as soon as 7 months after being implemented.

In 2006, I met the President APJ Abdul Kalam and the Vice President B.S. Shekhawat and discussed the whole plan with them. The president initiated the project and promised to keep it running believing that this is the only way to save Yamuna.

I have run the plan in small yet different places to check if what I had researched and concluded can be done practically. Thankfully, it was successful everywhere it was implemented.

Now I want to implement the whole plan in the region of Delhi so that we can clean Yamuna and stop it from polluting further in future.

I am planning to conduct a 40 days programme called Delhi ki Ganga – Yamuna Mahotsav. ( Swachcha Delhi - Swachcha Yamuna )
We would be highly obliged if you could kindly help us in organizing this and give us a meeting time where we could explain our Programme in detail.

Fresh Air....
Fresh Idea....
Fresh Talent....
Fresh Energy....
I need your support Sir. Jai Hind
Thanking you.
Kind Regards,
Gopi Dutt Akash
98185-92979
President – Youth Fraternity Foundation
Posted By GOPI DUTT On Date: 26 Jun 2010

 
 
 
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