Way forward: A conclusive remark

Namami Gange, the cleaning and rejuvenation plan of the Ganga basin established a striking new magnitude of progression for the nation’s prosperity by ensuring a clean and increased flow of water in river Ganga. Several other core issues are currently being considered to fulfil the overall aim of rejuvenation. It is believed that the future of Ganga is the future of India, whether it is culturally, economically or in terms of water resource availability. It is important to not treat the majestic and unique river just as the source of water, but a passage to our history, culture and civilization. With several first-time initiatives, NGP is potentially most comprehensive framework for River Rejuvenation. In conjunction with the main objectives, sludge management and agriculture activities in the basin area seem to be the refined focus of this project as per detailed analysis of public comments and opinions.
Farmers are among the most important water managers because they use roughly 70% of the freshwater water withdrawn globally to support agriculture. Helping farmers will thus help creates possibilities for reducing waste water and curb the water pollution levels (Sharma & Shekhar, 2021). Sludge management on the other hand is also a core issue, with increase in number of STPs and the current scale of wastewater treatment. This is a problem faced not just by India but on a global level.
There were numerous challenges that needed to be addressed one by one. We have concluded our review with the bulleted observations about the technology-based interventions we have offered across the identified issues, which are provided below.
Agricultural interventions : The constant flow of water, clean water, geological protection, and aquatic biodiversity conservation are without a doubt the primary components that sustain the Ganga River in a novel manner. However, there are certain crucial initiatives that may be performed to improve the Ganga’s sustainability. Our goal is to investigate the scope of ecohydrological and technology options for Ganga rejuvenation based up on four primary components: rural (farmer), urban, Ganga Dhara (watershed area), and Ganga Dhara (flood plains). Part of the answer is to promote natural, organic agriculture and related industries such as horticulture, floriculture, fishing, and animal husbandry. The following are the main agricultural reforms we have proposed regarding this:
A complete and integrated (traditional + digital technical) strategy that promotes organic and natural farming and leads to sustainable agriculture and food security in India is essential for the holistic development of the Ganga basin’s agricultural sector.
Sludge management interventions : Because of the massive growth in urban population and continual changes in living circumstances, which have resulted in significant water usage and subsequent discharge of wasted water into surface watercourses, sewage sludge treatment has now become a serious problem. One aspect is the use of sludge in agriculture due to its high quantity of organic components and plant macronutrients such as N, P, and K. However, because there are several imperative problems, such as the existence of undesired components like phenolics, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic compounds, and so on, which are possible threats to the environment, a prudent approach is required. Considering the many sludge’ management and disposal methods accessible to us, India, as an agrarian-based growing economy, must decide what is best for her. Landfilling is one alternative with advantages such as being a substantial producer of greenhouse gases; however, there is a faster technique of converting it into organic fertilizer that is both green and sustainable. We need to look at private companies who are working in this area and can efficiently manage heavy metals out of sludge while producing high-quality agricultural goods.
Biodiversity Conservation, Sustainable Forestry, and livelihood generation interventions : Apart from luring tourists, the protected areas throughout the Ganga Basin give opportunities for biodiversity parks. The Ganga River contains a diverse aquatic population. Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has designated as many as six high biodiversity zones, and there are over 5 lakh wetlands reportedly spread over the five Ganga River states. Wetlands not only maintain a high level of biological diversity, but also provides a diverse range of ecosystem goods and services, such as irrigation, residential water supply, freshwater fisheries, and recreational water. Based on our observations of current developments under the ’Arth Ganga’ project, we propose the following actionable ideas:
Among the multi-sectoral interventions, the specific challenges being faced by Agriculture and Sludge management sectors are of huge scale and needs immediate attention. Such challenges need not just a piece meal approach but an overall integrated technology-based framework presented as a solution which can address the monitoring and marketing aspects while covering all other concerning aspects. It has to be dealt on grass route level while using the modern approaches. This multi-facet approach must include provision for farmer’s connect to businesses, their acceptability towards organic and natural farming, warehousing solutions for pre- and post-harvest management, promoting safe farming practices, monitoring the activities on a dashboard level with pin-point accuracy, region-based tree plantation and monitoring mechanism. Such a technology can help to reduce risk, stimulate innovation and help the farmers dealing with the effects of climate change.