Natural Resource Management 

Natural resource management is crucial to sustaining ecosystems and supporting communities as they rely on these resources for their livelihoods. In a world of rapid development and climate change, the sustainable use of natural resources like forests, soil, and, most importantly, water has never been more urgent. Water stands out as a most critical asset—it is essential for agriculture, industry, domestic use, and biodiversity. However, water resources are increasingly threatened by over-extraction, pollution, and mismanagement, with rivers as a primary source of water bearing a substantial burden. Addressing these challenges requires a robust, multi-stakeholder approach that integrates scientific understanding with community engagement. In this context, river rejuvenation initiatives are important. Such initiatives not only address the demand and supply side management but also address pollution and improve water quality but also strengthen local governance structures and empower communities. 

Namami Gange Programme and Ganga River Basin Management Plan

The ‘Namami Gange Programme’ is out of the many initiatives of the Indian Government, a flagship initiative launched by the Indian government in June 2014, dedicated to the conservation and rejuvenation of the Ganga River, one of India’s most revered and ecologically significant rivers. The project, approved with an ambitious budget of Rs. 20,000 crore, is an Integrated Conservation Mission aimed at addressing two main goals: reducing pollution levels in the Ganga and preserving its natural ecosystem. By adopting a holistic approach, Namami Gange seeks not only to enhance water quality but also to restore the cultural and environmental significance of the river, which supports millions of lives and livelihoods across its extensive basin.

The Namami Gange Mission is recognised as one of the United Nations' 10 flagship programs under the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030). This honor underscores India’s comprehensive approach to restoring the Ganga’s ecosystem through sustainable initiatives that address pollution control, waste management, biodiversity conservation, and community engagement. As a holistic model, Namami Gange combines river rejuvenation with socio-economic development, benefiting both local communities and the natural environment. Being part of the UN flagship reinforces Namami Gange's position as an international model for large-scale, integrated ecosystem restoration and highlights India's commitment to meeting global environmental goals.

The Ganga rejuvenation project by National Mission for Clean Ganga, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Government of India includes diverse efforts like sewerage treatment, riverfront development, biodiversity conservation, afforestation, public awareness, industrial effluent monitoring, and Ganga Gram initiatives. As of now, 200 sewerage projects are under progress, with 116 operational, focusing on river cleanliness and solid waste management at key Ghats. 

A comprehensive River Basin Management Plan for Ganga is being prepared. The plan is being prepared with the objectives of taking comprehensive measures for restoration of the wholesomeness of the Ganga ecosystem and improvement of its ecological health, with due regard to the issue of competing water uses in the river basin. The wholesomeness of the river can be clustered in terms of four defining concepts: “Aviral Dhara” (Continuous Flow), “Nirmal Dhara” (Unpolluted Flow), Geologic Entity and Ecological Entity. 

Stakeholder engagement

Primary Objectives 

To drive sustainable management and rejuvenation of the Ganga basin, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) engaged diverse stakeholders across various sectors. Recognising the critical need for capacity building, NMCG launched a “Blended Capacity Building Programme for Stakeholders of River Ganga,” led by the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA). 

Methodology 

The methodology engages key stakeholders, including central and state government officials, through in-house and on-site interactions at IIPA. To expand the program’s reach across the Ganga Basin, Virtual Internet Programmes are held with partner institutions, engaging students, faculty, researchers, and academia. Short orientation courses promote continuous learning, targeting those connected to the Ganga. Focused Group Discussions with experts, immersive photo exhibitions, and interactive knowledge products provide dynamic learning. Success stories and best practices from various Ganga stakeholders are shared to increase awareness and inspire impactful engagement.

Strengthening Local Initiatives for Ganga Rejuvenation: DGCs, Community Perceptions, and Digital Monitoring 

Decentralization of power has historically gained importance in the Indian subcontinent. Conceptually, it involves transferring authority from the central government to lower tiers within a political, administrative, and territorial hierarchy. As part of the Namami Gange Programme, this hierarchical structure underwent a transformation with the establishment of District Ganga Committees (DGCs) in October 2016. These committees were envisioned to enhance decentralized planning efforts aimed not only at cleaning the river but also at its rejuvenation. This approach is rooted in the principle that any initiative to restore the Ganga's health must reflect and strengthen people's connection with the river. Insights from an interim report by the Committee of Secretaries and two national debates were incorporated into the plan. These inputs shaped the Namami Gange Programme, highlighting the pivotal role of local administration and stakeholders in its implementation.

District Ganga Committees (DGC)

Recognising the essential role of local administration in public initiatives, the 7-point plan for Ganga rejuvenation, developed in October 2014, highlighted the critical need for engaging and building the capacity of local bodies. The plan was shaped by inputs from a Committee of Secretaries for Water Resources and two national debates, serving as the backbone of the Namami Gange Programme. Central to this strategy was the role of local administration and stakeholders in restoring the Ganga. 

Capacity-building initiatives across five star states - Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal are led. Through 50 capacity building programs, IIPA equipped DGC members, including Executive Officers, District Project Officers, and Forest Officers, with essential knowledge and practical skills across various themes. These included small river rejuvenation, wetlands management, solid waste management, agriculture, afforestation, and institutional development. 

Ganga District Planning and Monitoring System (GDPMS)

The Ganga District Planning and Monitoring System (GDPMS) is an advanced digital platform created to enhance the planning, monitoring, and evaluation of projects under the Namami Gange Programme. Managed by NMCG, this platform is vital for promoting transparency, accountability, and coordination at the district level, focusing specifically on the conservation of the Ganga River and its tributaries. The GDPMS portal serves as a unified platform for the five Ganga basin states Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal facilitating coordinated efforts in river conservation, monitoring, and sustainable management across the entire Ganga River ecosystem.4 DGC monitors 54 comprehensive indicators across various sectors to assess the effectiveness of rejuvenation efforts. 

Digital monitoring across Ganga basin 

The evaluation of the Minutes of Meeting (MoM) upload status on the GDPMS portal offers a critical lens into district-level compliance with the reporting protocols of the Namami Gange initiative. This assessment provides insights into performance strengths and highlights areas requiring improvement. By systematically tracking key themes, the analysis fosters greater transparency, accountability, and the implementation of evidence-based adjustments, ultimately enhancing the effectiveness of conservation efforts.

Leveraging data from the GDPMS portal, the study spans five states—Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal—and examines 54 parameters grouped under 10 thematic categories. These indicators capture a broad spectrum of activities and outcomes related to Ganga River conservation. This structured approach enables a nuanced understanding of the progress made by each state and sheds light on the thematic areas that require further attention to achieve holistic and sustainable river rejuvenation.

For each state, thematic values were calculated by summing sub-components (e.g., Public Outreach, Educational Activities, Media Publicity, and Ganga Aartis for Theme 1) and normalising them by dividing by the number of districts (e.g., 13 for Uttarakhand). The normalised value was then compared against the target indicator (e.g., 10 for Theme 1 - Public Awareness) and scaled to a yearly projection by multiplying by 12 months (e.g., 10 × 12 = 120). This approach standardizes thematic assessments across states.

In Uttar Pradesh, significant progress is evident in public awareness initiatives and efforts to prevent solid waste from entering the river. Moderate advancements are noted in Ganga Gram and Afforestation while themes like River Front Development, Sewage Treatment Infrastructure development exhibit comparatively lower focus. Minimal attention is directed toward Industrial effluent monitoring, Institutional Development and Wetland and Small River Rejuvenation indicating areas requiring greater emphasis. Overall, while strides have been made in specific domains, a more balanced approach is needed to address all aspects of Ganga rejuvenation effectively. 

In Uttarakhand, performance across key Ganga development themes, with a strong emphasis on Public Awareness (highest score) and moderate progress in areas like Preventing Solid Waste Flowing into the River, Ganga Gram, Sewage Treatment Infrastructure and Institutional Development. Wetland and Small River Rejuvenation, River Front Development and Afforestation, show minimal progress, reflecting areas that require significant attention. The low scores in these critical aspects suggest a need for balanced development efforts to ensure comprehensive river rejuvenation and ecosystem management.

In Bihar, highest emphasis is on "Public Awareness" with a score nearing 80, indicating strong efforts in this area. In contrast, other themes such as Biodiversity, Afforestation, River-Front Development, and Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure Development show significantly lower scores, reflecting minimal progress or focus. Themes like "Industrial Effluent Monitoring" and "Ganga Gram" are particularly underdeveloped, highlighting areas that require substantial improvement for holistic river rejuvenation in Bihar.

In Jharkhand, Public Awareness emerges as the strongest theme, reflecting significant initiatives like outreach activities, educational programs, media campaigns, and Ganga Aartis. However, other themes show moderate to limited progress, and also other themes remaining areas remain significantly underdeveloped, with values close to zero. This highlights an uneven focus across themes and underscores the need for balanced and targeted interventions to ensure holistic progress in Ganga rejuvenation efforts in Jharkhand. 

This radar chart represents the relative emphasis on various development themes related to Ganga in West Bengal. The themes include areas such as Public Awareness, Preventing Solid Waste Flow into Rivers, Riverfront Development, Afforestation, Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure Development, Industrial Effluent Monitoring, Ganga Gram, Biodiversity, Institutional Development, and Wetland and Small River Rejuvenation. Among these, the highest focus is on Public Awareness, with a score of 16, while other themes show significantly lower values, indicating less emphasis or activity in those areas. This highlights a prioritization of community engagement over infrastructural or environmental measures.

People Perception survey: Harshil Valley 

The people perception survey explores community awareness, attitudes, and sentiments regarding river rejuvenation efforts, highlighting local challenges, impacts, and engagement with initiatives like Namami Gange. The integration of digital monitoring insights from the District Ganga Committees (DGCs) with the people perception survey findings from Harshil Valley offers a comprehensive lens into the effectiveness of the Namami Gange initiative. While digital tools like the GDPMS portal provide structured, data-driven evaluations of district-level compliance and thematic progress across states, the community-centric approach in Harshil Valley reveals the on-ground realities, challenges, and sentiments of local populations. Together, these perspectives highlight a critical interplay between top-down governance mechanisms and grassroots-level awareness and engagement. Bridging the insights from these two dimensions can help identify gaps in implementation, align community perceptions with programmatic goals, and foster a more inclusive and participatory framework for holistic river rejuvenation.

Harshil Valley, in Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand, is a scenic Himalayan region known for its lush forests, glacial rivers, and tranquil atmosphere. Situated at 2,745 meters, it is also famous for its natural beauty and apple orchards, located near Gangotri National Park. Data collection focused on understanding community awareness and perception of river rejuvenation efforts in Harshil Valley. Using a mixed-methods approach, field surveys, interviews, and sentiment analysis were conducted. Sentiment analysis, often referred to as opinion mining, is a pivotal field in natural language processing that focuses on the computational study of people's opinions, sentiments, emotions, and attitudes expressed in written language. A structured questionnaire captured demographic details, environmental awareness, and attitudes toward sustainability. Sentiment analysis was carried out in MS Excel, with text data cleaned, categorised, and analyzed to determine sentiment trends, visualized through charts and graphs. Semi-structured video interviews with Uttarkashi district officials provided insights into the NMCG Namami Gange project’s implementation and challenges. Field visits to 5 villages in Harshil Valley - Jaspur, Bagori, Jhala, Mukhwa, Dharali included structured surveys for villagers across age groups, addressing awareness, project impact, interactions with the District Ganga Committee, and issues of water quality, sanitation, and single-use plastic waste. Quantitative survey data were analysed statistically, while qualitative data were thematically coded to capture local experiences, collectively providing a nuanced understanding of public perceptions of the project.

The sentiment analysis for Harshil Valley’s awareness and perceptions toward river rejuvenation, natural challenges, and socio-economic aspects provides varied insights:

1. Awareness of NMCG and DGC: Awareness of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) reflects mixed sentiments, with a close balance of positive and negative views, while District Ganga Committee (DGC) awareness is predominantly negative, indicating either a lack of information or negative perceptions toward DGC initiatives.

2. Challenges in Cleaning Ganga: Responses on the challenges of cleaning the Ganga are fairly balanced, leaning slightly negative, showing an awareness of existing difficulties but with some recognition of ongoing efforts.

3. Natural Disasters: The frequency of earthquakes and landslides elicits significant negative sentiment, indicating community concerns over disaster risks, although some responses remain neutral or mixed, possibly reflecting resignation to natural occurrences.

4. Plastic Burning: Sentiment is overwhelmingly negative, with strong disapproval of plastic burning practices, signaling a need for improved waste management and environmental regulations.

5. Tourism Impact: Tourism in Harshil Valley is viewed very positively, with respondents appreciating its economic and cultural benefits, though a minority note issues such as pollution and drug use.

6. Significance of Ganga: The Ganga River holds deep cultural and spiritual significance, with the vast majority expressing positive sentiments, underlining its revered status within the community.

7. Job Opportunities: Views on employment outside Harshil are mixed but skew negative, highlighting concerns about job availability and diversity, impacting perceptions of economic potential beyond the valley.

8. Resources for Self-Sufficiency: Sentiments here are mostly positive, with respondents optimistic about available resources, though a few express concerns, pointing to areas where further support could enhance self-sufficiency.

This analysis underscores diverse perspectives within Harshil Valley, from reverence for the Ganga to challenges in waste management and job prospects, offering a nuanced view of local perceptions and areas for targeted intervention.

Inclusive policies 

The Ganga River rejuvenation initiatives underscore the importance of inclusivity as a cornerstone of their success. Policies must ensure the equitable engagement of diverse stakeholders, including local communities, academic institutions, NGOs, government bodies, and private organisations, to foster shared responsibility. Inclusivity begins with recognising and addressing barriers to participation, particularly for underrepresented groups such as rural communities, women, and marginalised populations. Tailored capacity-building programs with localised content empower participants with varied educational and technical backgrounds. Blended learning models that combine virtual and in-person sessions address geographic and infrastructural disparities, enabling broad access to resources and training. Emphasising community-driven approaches ensures that interventions are culturally relevant and resonate with local needs. Feedback mechanisms are integral, providing a platform for voices from all sectors to refine and shape program strategies. Ultimately, inclusive policies prioritize equal opportunity, foster collective ownership, and ensure the sustainability of river conservation efforts by integrating socio-economic, cultural, and environmental dimensions.

Challenges faced and Lessons learned 

The capacity-building project faced several challenges and gained valuable insights throughout its implementation. The primary challenge is to coordinate a diverse group of stakeholders, each with unique needs and expectations, including government officials, local communities, NGOs, students, and industry representatives. The project required customised approaches to meet the varied educational levels and technical backgrounds of participants. This complexity made it challenging to ensure consistent engagement and understanding across all groups. 

Another challenge is logistical, particularly in reaching remote or rural areas along the Ganga Basin. Organising face-to-face sessions in these areas proved challenging due to limited infrastructure, which affected attendance and participation. The team addressed this by developing a blended learning model that incorporated both online and in-person sessions, helping to bridge the accessibility gap. Despite this innovation, internet connectivity issues in certain areas limited the effectiveness of online training, emphasising the need for continued investment in digital infrastructure to support large-scale, hybrid learning initiatives.

Through these challenges, the key lessons are learned that will shape future phases of the mission. The need for highly adaptable content was a significant insight, leading to the development of more modular, self-paced materials that accommodate different learning speeds and knowledge levels. The importance of localising content was also highlighted, as participants found examples and case studies from their regions more relatable and engaging. This understanding has led to an increased focus on region-specific case studies and success stories in future training modules. 

Additionally, the project underscored the critical role of ongoing communication and community engagement in fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility toward the river's health. Moving forward, it is aimed to strengthen partnerships with local leaders and organisations to support sustained engagement, creating a more community-driven approach. The feedback mechanism itself proved to be invaluable, revealing that active participation in refining the program content bolstered stakeholder interest and commitment.

The challenges encountered underscored the need for a flexible, inclusive, and regionally relevant approach to capacity building in environmental initiatives. These lessons have helped refine the project’s strategies, ensuring more effective engagement and long-term impact as it moves into subsequent phases. Modular, self-paced materials and region-specific case studies proved effective in addressing diverse learning needs. A blended learning approach, combining online and in-person sessions, was beneficial, although future initiatives will require greater investment in digital infrastructure to overcome accessibility gaps. Strengthening community ownership through partnerships with local leaders and fostering ongoing engagement was critical for ensuring sustained commitment to river health. Lastly, incorporating active feedback mechanisms helped refine the program’s content, making it more relevant and effective for all stakeholders.

References 

1. Falkenmark, M., & Rockström, J. (2004). Balancing water for humans and nature: The new approach in ecohydrology. Earthscan.

2. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). (n.d.). UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/

3. Liu, B. (2012). Sentiment analysis and opinion mining. Morgan & Claypool Publishers. https://doi.org/10.2200/S00416ED1V01Y201204HLT016

4. Ministry of Jal Shakti, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). (n.d.). Namami Gange Programme: Integrated Conservation Mission https://nmcg.nic.in/