Eminent members of National Ganga River Basin Authority resign
New Delhi, March 13, 2012: Outraged
over Government’s insensitivity towards fast-unto-death by Dr G D Agarwal, now
known as Swami Gyan Swarup Sanand, three eminent members of UPA government’s much
touted National Ganga River Basin Authority, Magsaysay Award winner Mr Rajendra
Singh, Mr Ravi Chopra and Mr Rashid Hyatt Siddiqui today announced their joint decision
to resign from the body. They charged the Centre with gross negligence towards
worsening state of the holy river.
Another Magsaysay Awardee and noted environmentalist
Mr M C Mehta has also come out in their support. He said “it is very difficult
to find a person of Dr Agarwal’s integrity and dedication. We must all strive
to save him by protecting river Ganga. But the
government has been very indifferent towards him and has not taken any step in
addressing the concerns raised by him.”
Mr Singh, an internationally acclaimed activist
popularly knows as the ‘waterman of India’, said the government was not
serious towards Ganga as evident by it’s
attitude towards the movement undertaken by Swami Gyan Swarup Sanand. This
indifference is also clear if we see how it handled the fast by Swami
Nigamanand. We see it as our moral responsibility to resign as members of the
NGRBA.
“The government has neither political will nor any
executable plan. During the three and a half years of NGRBA that was formed to
restore the ancient place of pride and respect to Ganga,
it met only twice. Even the allocation of members’ responsibility was not done,
reflecting a non-serious attitude.
He also questioned the seriousness of chief minister
members towards the issue.
“Our demand for declaring Ganga
as National River was met. We had hoped the
formation of the NGRBA would be free of Centre-state politics but CMs of Uttar
Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal did not
attend the meetings even once.”
In a letter to Prime Minister on November 20, 2011, seven members of
the Authority unanimously wrote to the PM for allocation of
responsibilities. A meeting was ordered
by him for a meeting on February
16, 2012. It was, however, postponed due to Assembly elections. The
members asked the Environment Minister that a meeting of the Authority be
convened at Haridwar on March
5, 2012. But there has been no response from the Government side so
far. The three members, in view of this and the criminal ignorance towards Dr
Agarwal felt it was morally unbearable to continue on the panel and have sent
their resignations.
Echoing similar views, Mr Siddiqui said Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh’s declaration of Ganga as National River is nothing but an exercise in
tokenism. The officials seek suggestions from us but pay no heed to us. If they
had to continue with their own ways towards exploiting and polluting the river,
what was the need to form NGRBA. It has become a joke.”
Mr Chopra said Dr Agarwal is the best expert on
matters of constructing dams and protection of rivers. The government should
not remain adamant on its positions and talk with him.
Mr Mehta said that Dr Agarwal, a former professor of
IIT, Kanpur has
been on Tapasaya since January
15, 2012 to restore respect
to Ganga. He has stopped consuming water from 9th March 2012.
It is a matter of great concern but
the government remains totally unmoved.
Mr Singh said the original glory and purity of Ganga will remain a dream in the absence of a strong
policy and a law dealing solely with the great river. This was the mandate for
NGRBA but it failed comprehensively. The government’s insensitivity is also
glaring by the fact that the final notification for declaration of 135 km of
upper Ganga region as eco-sensitive region is
still awaited.
“We hope his resolve will urge people to rise from
slumber and inaction, forcing
them to take right and appropriate steps towards protecting the ancient river that binds the nation,” he added.
them to take right and appropriate steps towards protecting the ancient river that binds the nation,” he added.
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