Arth Ganga Model

Context

The Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, spoke about the Arth Ganga model during his virtual keynote address to the Stockholm World Water Week 2022. 

• Since 1991, World Water Week has been organised by the Stockholm International Water Institute to address global water concerns.
• The theme of 2022 is “Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water”. 
  
  
  

About

• PM Modi first introduced the concept during the first National Ganga Council meeting in Kanpur in 2019, where he urged for a shift from Namami Gange, the Union Government’s flagship project to clean the Ganga, to the model of Arth Ganga.
• The latter focuses on the sustainable development of the Ganga and its surrounding areas, by focusing on economic activities related to the river.
• At its core, the Arth Ganga model seeks to use economics to bridge people with the river.
• It strives to contribute at least 3% of the GDP from the Ganga Basin itself.

Arth Ganga Model 

• The concept of Arth Ganga was introduced by the Prime Minister during the first National Ganga Council meeting in 2019.
• In the meeting, he suggested moving from Namami Gange to the Arth Ganga.
• Namami Gange was initiated to clean the Ganga river.
• Arth Ganga aims to promote the sustainable development of the Ganga river and its surrounding areas, by boosting economic activities associated with the river.
• According to the government ‘Arth Ganga” would catalyse economic development in the Ganga basin and also generate an economic benefit of more than Rs 1000 crores over the next 5 years.
• Under Arth Ganga, the government is working on six verticals-
• Zero Budget Natural Farming: Chemical-free farming on 10 km on both sides of the river.
• Promotion of cow dung as fertilizer through the GOBARdhan scheme. 
• Monetization and Reuse of Sludge and Wastewater: Reuse treated water for irrigation, industries and revenue generation for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
• Livelihood Generation Opportunities, by encouraging people to sell local products. 
• Increasing public participation by increasing cooperation between the stakeholders involved with the river. 
• Promote the cultural heritage and tourism of Ganga and its surrounding area. 
• Promote institutional building by empowering local administration for improved water governance.

Significance of the project

• The project is a holistic viewpoint of the Ganga rejuvenation project which seeks to promote sustainable livelihood of the population in this area. 
• Inland Waterways being the most important part of the Arth Ganga project, will create huge economic activities while focusing on inclusive and sustainable livelihood.
• Trade and market access benefits, local community economic growth, and passenger convenience all have a big impact.
• According to the World Bank, this project’s infrastructure-related operations will lead to the creation of 100–150 direct jobs per industry.
• The Arth Ganga project will also ensure large scale skills enhancement and public/private sector capability development.
• The ease of transportation and doing business will have a huge impact on the farmers, especially horticulture farmers in the region.

About National Ganga Council

• In 2016, the government released a notification replacing the National Ganga River Basin Authority by a new body named “National Council for River Ganga”.
• The National Ganga Council is one of the tiers of the five-tier structure envisaged to prevent, control, and abate pollution under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• It is chaired by the Prime Minister.
• It has been given the overall responsibility for the superintendence of pollution prevention and rejuvenation of River Ganga Basin including Ganga and its tributaries.