Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheme to rejuvenate the Ganga has left little for other rivers, and for the authority that will continue to look after those. From the National River Conservation Plan’s budget of Rs 175 crore for this year, Rs 97 crore has been taken out for Mission Clean Ganga. And the balance of Rs 78 crore hasn’t reached NRCP yet.
The short-staffed NRCP has agreed to surrender 24 posts from its sanctioned 102 — 59 filled and 43 vacant. Among the actual strength of 59, in fact, 16 are currently deputed on works other than river conservation. Mission Clean Ganga’s 24 include only seven posts actually filled, meaning it will need to recruit 17.
For 2014-15, the entire river conservation budget of Rs 175 crore has been routed to the newly created Ministry of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which covers NRCP, is waiting for NRCP’s share of Rs 78 crore.
NRCP needs the funds for several river conservation projects. These include one for the Mindhola in Gujarat, for which NRCP needs around Rs 40 crore, and another for the Sutlej-Beas in Punjab, for which it needs another Rs 39 crore. NRCP’s brief initially covered 42 polluted rivers but it is now left with 30, the Ganga and its tributaries having gone under the MissioN Clean Ganga’s ambit.
The 16 NRCP officers deputed elsewhere are drawing salaries from the National River Conservation Directorate while working with other divisions. These include additional secretary Sushil Kumar and joint secretary Anil Sant. Of 10 scientists recruited for river conservation, six are working in divisions such as the one that issues environmental clearance for projects. Says one of the six, “We have expertise in river conservation but our services are not being taken for that work.”
Rivers remaining under NRCP’s ambit include Adyar (Tamil Nadu), Beehar (Madhya Pradesh), Bhadra (Karnataka), Cauvery (Karnataka), Cooum (Tamil Nadu), Godavari (Maharashtra), Krishna (Maharashtra), Shipra (MP) and Narmada.
