River Basin Management Plan: Government Ropes In Twelve Technical Institutes For Cleaning Major Rivers

On 28 February 2024, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, announced that studies will be conducted for cleaning six major river basins in the country. Twelve major institutes will take up the effort, based on which proper management plan will be formulated.

The initiative draws its inspirations from the success of Ganga River Basin Management Plan, which was framed by a consortium of seven IITs, led by IIT Kanpur.

Latest agreements were signed between National River Conservation Directorate under the Ministry of Jal Shakti and institutes which comprise of the IITs, NITs, IISc and NEERI Nagpur. A proper river basin management plans for the Narmada, Godavari, Krishna, Cauvery, Periyar, and the Mahanadi rivers will be prepared by these institutes.

Shekhawat said that standards set by the Centre for Ganga river basin management and studies conducted will work as standard benchmarks for upcoming projects.

“The way India has worked on different issues related to water…a holistic approach has been taken. Almost all initiatives taken are among the largest in the world, whether it is drinking water, cleaning rivers or groundwater recharge and aquifers,” said Shekhawat while stressing on accelerated pace of river management.

Union Jal Shakti Minister also credited former president Ram Nath Kovind for making the first announcement about working on cleaning six river basins. He had done it in an address to a joint sitting of Parliament in 2019.