The Ganges - A New Hope

The River Ganges is considered to be the holiest river in India with a deep and long history of spiritual, economic, and religious significance. A life-giving source, the river provides water to 40% of India's population. The river on its path from the Himalayas, where it rises from, to the Bay of Bengal, crosses 2500 km through the northern and eastern states of India. Geographical boundaries do not hold back the mighty river, which flows through parts of Nepal, China and Bangladesh. It accounts for 30% of our country's water resources and 26% of its landmass. The Ganges has been declared India's National River.

Yet the fate of River Ganga itself seems bleak. It is one of the most polluted rivers in Asia, crossing the WHO defined levels of permissible pollutants by 3000 times. Everyday 1.7 billion litres of waste such as defecation, untreated industrial waste and pollution during religious events runs into the river. Additionally, about 89 million litres of sewage is disposed off in the river daily. The water is very quickly becoming unfit for drinking, bathing and even agricultural purposes. The discovery of Mercury in the water has raised alarms.

Earlier governments have attempted to clean the Ganges. Rajv Gandhi, in 1984, began a campaign to restore the river and rebuild the banks. However, due to a lack of technological resources and expertise at the time, the complex problems were unresolved.

Three decades later, on August 15th 2014, current Prime Minister Narendra Modi began the "Clean India"movement. The Clean Ganga Project is of national significance and the roadmap towards achieving it is not a smooth one. Billions of Rupees, massive intellectual and physical resources and meticulous governance are essential components required to take on this mega problem. However, it also represents a great business opportunity for those involved in urban planning, clean technology, wastewater management, sanitation, agriculture and infrastructure.

"The Government has taken a great step forward but in order to maintain momentum and achieve objectives it is imperative that the private sector play a large role in the execution of national plans." states Mr. Arun Lakhani, MD Vishvaraj Infrastructure and a great promoter of government-private relationships.

The "large role"mentioned by Mr. Lakhani can be best defined as a "Public Private Partnership"or a PPP. Many believe that only private organizations with their streamlined processes and sense of accountability towards investors would be capable of bringing this much sought after change. Some experts have even gone as far as to state that only foreign companies with their technology and managerial prowess can solve the complexities of this situation. In fact, foreign direct investment regulations may be relaxed to attract funding and technology.

A PPP model has given rise to several opportunities and with vigilante monitoring and diligent reporting, a clean River Ganga could be a reality. The current situation, however, is dire. Thousands of villages need toilets, waste management facilities and sewage treatment plants. Small manufacturing units often dump toxic waste and in order to prevent this, treatment facilities will need to be constructed. Modern technology makes it possible to remove pollutants from the water and treat it but this too will require resources and budgetary expenditure. Long term solutions highly depend on the education of people living along the banks, development of sustainable practices within the agricultural community and the prevention of chemical fertilisers flowing into the river.

"The big question is, "Who will take on this colossal task?". The answer is "Everyone, starting from the government and trickling down to individual citizens. Everyone needs to be responsible."said Mr. Lakhani.

Indeed, the government has begun on this journey and has beckoned several individuals and organisations to join it. With a massive budgetary requirement of $15 billion and a timeline of 8 years to achieve full restoration, the Government has turned towards private investors. Some reports have suggested that 70% of the funding will be provided by the Private sector, across the coming decade.

With the opportunity to make a change and earn profits comes a large risk. Not every private player is willing to enter into a PPP, let alone be eligible. The long term nature of this project and the perceived issues of working with the Government has kept several players away from the Clean Ganga Project. Then there are those who have risen to the occasion and hope to make the most of the current situation.

Not surprisingly, international companies have been quick to make a move. Israeli and Danish companies were some of the first to show interest in entering a PPP. Some 200 Israeli companies have been considered capable of purifying the Ganga.

In the south, the state of Karnataka has allowed NaanDanJain, an Indian-Israeli company, to create a test farm to study drip irrigation with the hope of saving water. Agriculture and the irrigation industry are at a stage where their growth is inevitable and this has attracted attention of foreign players.

Gujrat has already opened its doors to a group of Danish companies who are implementing a water management project. The PM's state aims to reduce pollution through this pilot project, study the process and spread the knowledge. Revolutionary ideas, transition of expertise and a change in practices are the goals.

A natural way of cleansing the river water, by creating a series of channels and wetlands, is being explored by Water Revive, a bio-engineering company which aims to use low-maintenance, natural solutions.

"With a problem this complex.it only makes sense that different approaches are explored within the PPP model", states Mr. Lakhani, an expert in executing PPPs.

The Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor is leading the NewTech initiative which aims at matching Indian water, energy and environment technology companies with Israeli counterparts to discover solutions.

This is just the first wave of hope that India is witnessing. There is much to be done and Indian companies will also play a large role in the coming years, but it is a great sign to witness support from countries across the world. It has helped to reinforce the benefits of a PPP and encouraged several National players too. There will be medium and long-term projects of varied nature and each will be a great chance for private companies to come forwards and help in shaping the evolution of the Ganges and the Nation.

Clean Ganga - A River full of Hope

Jawaharlal Nehru once stated, "The Ganga to me is the symbol of India's memorable past which has been flowing into the present and continues to flow towards the ocean of the future."

Today, although the words still hold true, the future of the great River Ganga itself seems bleak. The mighty river cultural, ecological and critical economic value for the entire nation. The river on its path from the Himalayas, where it rises from, to the Bay of Bengal crosses 2500 km through the northern and eastern states of India. Geographical boundaries do not hold back the mighty river, which flows through parts of Nepal, China and Bangladesh. It accounts for 30% of our country's water resources, 26% of its landmass and 40% of India's population lives in villages, towns and cities close to the river which is why as of 2008 the Ganges has been declared India's National River.

Without any other information, it may come as a surprise to many that this nationally significant water body is among the top 10 most polluted rivers, globally. However with the river basin directly supporting 357 odd million people and spanning an area of 1,086,000 sq. km, the effects of pollution and overpopulation have taken its toll on the river. Cities such as Delhi, Agra, Meerut, Kanpur, Lucknow, Varanasi, Patna, Allahabad and Kolkata create and discharge massive amounts of waste water. Out of the approximate 11 billon litres of sewage that enters the river from 181 towns, only 45% is treated.

Governments have come and left, each having understood the implications of a damaged Ganga and trying to begin initiatives to clean the river. 11 states along the river have been identified for implementing a mammoth sewer network. With an operation this size several government agencies will need to come together but more importantly a large and consistent source of money is required. However it is clear that the government, with it's numerous priorities, will not be able to fund the entire project on their own and will definitely not be able to efficiently manage the operations single-handedly.

Governments have come and left, each having understood the implications of a damaged Ganga and trying to begin initiatives to clean the river. 11 states along the river have been identified for implementing a mammoth sewer network. With an operation this size several government agencies will need to come together but more importantly a large and consistent source of money is required. However it is clear that the government, with it's numerous priorities, will not be able to fund the entire project on their own and will definitely not be able to efficiently manage the operations single-handedly.

In 1985, the Ganga Action Plan was launched to improve the water quality. Phase-2 was initiated in 1993 with the aim to treat sewage before it entered the Ganga and four tributaries - Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar and Mahanadi. 2009 saw the emergence of NGRBA - National Ganga River Basin Authority which was responsible for empowered planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating authority for cleaning the river. None of this was enough and it was soon very clear that a major leap had to be made if India was to save its bountiful Ganga.

With this awareness the Indian Government has created the 'Namaami Gange' Project - a programme to conserve the River Ganga. An initial amount of Rs. 20.4 billion was allocated during 2014. A multi-entity approach including the ministries of Rural Development, Shipping and Water Resources has been adopted. Their objective is to free all villages along the river bank from open defecation by 2022 and incentives states to extend sewer reach to all 181 towns. A further Rs. 510 billion will be invested in to sewerage infrastructure during the course of this project.

With a project of this scale it was clear from the start that the government would need to join forces with the private sector. A Public Private Partnership (PPP) model made perfect sense. A PPP would help in raising additional funds and implementing various subsidiary projects such as setting up of sewage treatment plants.

The Centre has decided to completely fund certain activities under this programme, while handing over others to the private players. The disappointing results of the GAP has also driven the Centre to provide operation and maintenance assistance and they have opted for a PPP/SPV approach.

In addition a four-battalion Ganga Eco-Task Force and a territorial army unit are being planned to keep river pollution at a check.

In order to understand how a PPP could greatly help this initiative, we need to understand the financial and operational implications of the entire scheme. We spoke to Mr. Arun Lakhani, MD Vishvaraj Infrastructures, a PPP expert and a great promoter of government-private relationships.

"It is important that the objective be clear. The Ganga is crucial to the future of India and its prosperity, hence, it must be protected and developed so that it can yield all that it is capable of. This is not a one company or one government job. We must all contribute and a PPP creates an excellent path for this", said Mr. Arun Lakhani

With an estimated investment of Rs.80,000 crore need to clean the Ganga, the government is in dire need of financial assistance. The private players will be able to shoulder a great portion of this burden by bringing in about Rs. 56,000 crore.

Activists and the media too will have to play a great role by spreading awareness of the importance of this project and by encouraging the citizens to take a more pro-active and responsible approach towards the conservation of the river. A special ministry has been created by the ruling party to over see all activities related to the holy river.

With an investment of 25-30% of the total, the government hopes to encourage organic farming near the river to reduce the flow of pesticides and fertilisers in to the river and provide better sanitary infrastructure such bio toilets.

Private sector players will assist in dredging the river at certain points to allow the navigation of small ships such as the ones traversing from Varanasi to Hoogly. Tourism is being seen as a great way to boost the economies of the villages and towns along the Ganga but also as a way to encourage people to maintain the river.

The responsibility of collecting waste water and treating it will lie on the shoulders of private players who will need to maintain government-set standards and provide regular reports. "Public-Private-Partnerships are a successful model when executed with equal accountability, efficiency and honesty. Monitoring is necessary for long-term results", commented Mr. Lakhani.

In the longer scheme of things, it is yet too early to see how the PPP model will fare. If the attempt to Clean Ganga is to be successful, the government will need to remain efficient while planning, vigilante when monitoring and transparent when communicating with the public. Private sectors players entering this project will hopefully bring with them a streamlined approach, processes which will reduce time and cost and the expertise need to once again witness the River Ganga in all its power.

"We must learn to give, give, and give like the Sun, And like Mother Ganga - with no hesitation, no expectation, no vacation and no discrimination." – H.H. Pujya Swami Chidanand Saraswatiji, Founder of Ganga Action Parivar and Spiritual Head of Parmarth Niketan (Rishikesh)