URVERS
CLIENT/FUNDER: National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India
DURATION: 3 years
STARTING FROM: 03-2019
PROJECT WEB LINK: http://urbanrivers.niua.org
PROJECT LOCATION:Kanpur, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal
PROJECT LEAD: Uday Bhonde
The River Ganga is one of the most important rivers in India, both from an ecological and cultural point of view. So much so that it was declared as the National River in 2008. Over the years, the river has faced serious threats on several fronts that have resulted in deteriorated water quality, loss of biodiversity, reduced flow in some stretches, and general neglect. Much of the current undesirable state of the River Ganga can be attributed to disruptive anthropogenic activities. These are somehow more prevalent in urban areas (cities). Therefore, any improvement in the river’s health cannot be achieved without first addressing the issues in urban areas. While cities in the Ganga River Basin have largely been responsible for the deterioration of the river, they will have a central role to play in its rejuvenation. In March 2019, NIUA in association with the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the aegis of Ministry of Jal Shakti, embarked on this project to specifically address the "urban" element of river management. The project aims to promulgate river sensitive development in cities of the Ganga river basin. There are several noteworthy achievements of the project. The project has developed a common framework for urban river management (also called Urban River Management Plan, URMP) that will be adopted by 97 towns along the main stem of the Ganga, from Uttarakhand to West Bengal. The URMP framework is first of its kind in the world. The framework is being piloted in Kanpur city. The project has developed strategic guidelines for town planners on how to mainstream river thinking into a city's Master Plan. These guidelines will serve as a reference to any river city in India. The project has developed and carried out unique and customised capacity building programmes on decentralised wastewater management in smaller cities in the Ganga basin that do not have the resources to opt for centralised wastewater management systems.
Uday Bhonde Sr. Program Specialist (Water & Environment)
Rahul Sachdeva Sr. Program Specialist
Nikita Madan Research Associate(NG)
Banibrata Choudhury Research Associate(NG)
Uday Bhonde Sr. Program Specialist (Water & Environment)
Lovlesh Sharma Sr. Water & Infrastructure specialist