Uttarakhand HC declared Ganga and Yamuna as living entities
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On Monday, Uttarakhand High Court declared the Ganga and Yamuna as living entities. Uttarakhand HC has given legal rights to the Ganga and the Yamuna as a person under the Indian Constitution. It is the second time in World and first time in India that rivers have been stated as a living entity with their own fundamental rights under the Indian Constitution. The first river which got this distinction was Whanganui River which is located in the north island of New Zealand. The only difference is that it was Parliament that gave the special status to Whanganui River.
A bench comprising Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Alok Singh opined that it is important to give legal rights as a person to rivers Ganga and Yamuna under Article 48-A and Article 51A(g) of the Indian Constitution.
The bench said, “All the Hindus have deep Astha in rivers Ganga and Yamuna and they collectively connect with these rivers. Rivers Ganga and Yamuna are central to the existence of half of Indian population and their health and well being. The rivers have provided both physical and spiritual sustenance to all of us from time immemorial. Rivers Ganga and Yamuna have spiritual and physical sustenance. They support and assist both the life and natural resources. They also support health and well-being of the entire community. Rivers Ganga and Yamuna are breathing, living and sustaining the communities from mountains to sea.”
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Actions that are taken to clean Ganga and Yamuna Rivers
Ganga and Yamuna Action Plans
In the year 1985 Ganga Action plan Phase-1 was started to clean the water quality of river Ganga and it was completed in March 2000. In the first phase of Ganga Action Plan, Rs. 462 crore was the sanctioned cost of this project against an expenditure of Rs. 433 has been incurred.
Ganga Action Plan Phase-2 was approved in April 1993. In this phase, Rs. 594.96 crore was the sanctioned cost against an expenditure of Rs. 469.75 has been incurred so far. Under Ganga Action Plan I and II, a total sewage treatment capacity of 1091 million litres per day has been created for Ganga.
Yamuna Action Plan Phase-1 was started in 1993. The completion period of this phase was upto the year 2000. This phase was extended to2003 on the directions of the Government of India as well as Hon’ble Supreme Court. The total sanctioned cost was Rs. 705.51 of this phase against an expenditure of Rs. 682 crore has been incurred.
The second phase of Yamuna Action plan was started in December 2004 with an accepted cost of Rs.624 crore. Under this phase Rs.666.76 has been the sanctioned cost so far.
Yamuna and Ganga Action Plan are carrying out on a cost sharing basis between the States and Centre. Here are the details of central funds released and expenditure incurred in the States, including state share, for conservation of river Ganga and Yamuna during the last three years are given below:
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According to PIB reports:
| Year | Ganga | Yamuna | ||
| Funds Released | Expenditure | Funds Released | Expenditure | |
| 2008-09 | 54.85 | 63.58 | 98.99 | |
| 2009-10 | 99.74 | 49.17 | 100.40 | 152.45 |
| 2010-11 | 466.73 | 113.53 | 103.39 | 197.96 |
In Crore
Government is spending large amount money to clean these rivers, so as an individual we also have responsibilities to make them clean. So be a part of Swach Bharat Abhiyaan and as an aware citizen do not throw garbage in rivers.
