ABSTRACT
This study throws light on the development debate going on about the India’s greatest River project Ganges and its possible impact on the life dependent on the river water whether on the ground (the river banks) or in the water itself (the aquatic life). The Ganges, held sacred by many individuals, is a perennial River and influences the economy and occupancy of the people either directly or indirectly. Its basin is home to more than 400 million people and the river serves needs such as those of drinking water, washing clothes, fishing, irrigation, navigation, and manufacturing of hydroelectric power.
Pollution and abstraction of River water resources for various purposes are unavoidable. An effective decision-making and policy implementation are required to achieve a balance between development and sustainability. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has given environment clearance to various schemes of waterways, navigation and encroachment claiming that they are environment friendly. However, in the last few years, the situation instead of improving has only worsened. Development of a Multi-Modal Transport (MMT) at Ramnagar (Varanasi) and other related projects, allegedly being carried on without environmental clearances have been the cause of more damage than any such project(s) before them.
The present study is an attempt to analyze various areas where the encroachment into the Ganges has influenced human’s socio – economic condition; and assessed the impact of increased development over the condition of the river. For this purpose, primary data have been collected from household dwelling on the river banks using survey method. For the secondary data, different news articles, reports of non- government and government organizations have been used. From the analyses of the results, it’s evident that implications of the increased development are by and large negative for the river and its surroundings.
