International Conference on

Sustainable Clean Ganga MissionIqbal Hasan, Sr. Tech. Director, NIC

The way Ahead, 4th Dec 2015 at Indian Habitat Center, New Delhi.

Sustainable Development through Knowledge and Innovation

Sustainable Development

• meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Sustainability: 3 Pillars

1. Environmental2. Economic3. Social

Ganga Origination

• The River Ganga has been the cradle of Indian civilization, economy and social life.

• Ganga originates from the confluence of Alaknanda and Bhagirathi, after traversing 2525 Kms,it falls into the Bay of Bengal.

• The Ganges ranks as the fifth most polluted river of the world. Pollution threatens not only humans, but also more than 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin, Golden Mahseer.

Ganga Pollution Threats

• The amount of toxins, chemicals and other dangerous bacteria found in the river are now almost 3000 times over the limit suggested by the WHO

• More than 420 million people who rely on it for food, water, bathing and agriculture, The diagram depicts the various pollutants and its sources which pollute river Ganga.

Sustainability: Problems

1. Depletion of finite resources- fuels, soils, minerals and species

2. Over use of renewable resources- forests, fish, wildlife, fertility and public funds

3. Pollution- air, water, soil

4. Inequity- economic, political, social and gender

5. Species loss- endangered species and spaces

How to win Sustainability?

Solution:1. Cyclical material use- emulate natural cycles, 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse &

Recycle)

2. Safe reliable energy- conservation, renewable energy, substitution and

interim measures

3. Life based interests- health, creativity, communication, appreciation,

learning, intellectual and spiritual development

materials and energy

ENERGY

NON-RENEWABLEand RENEWABLE

MATERIALS

HEAT

HIGHTHROUGHPUT

WASTE &TOXINS

One-way flow of materials and energy

Obsolescent “frontier” civilization:

Energy EfficiencyENERGY

Low-qualityHeat Energy

RENEWABLE

MATERIALS

Waste MinimizationToxics control

CONSERVERSOCIETY

LOWTHROUGHPUT

Low-volumeNontoxic Waste Materials

• Cyclical flows of materials • Appropriate energy usage

Sustainable civilization:

informationand decision

making

ECONOMY

ENV’T

SOCIETY

TRADITIONALDECISION MAKING

• NON-PARTICIPATORY

•FRAGMENTED

ECONOMY

ENV’T

SOCIETY

TRADITIONALDECISION MAKING

SOCIETY ECONOMY‘ECO-SYSTEMHEALTH’

ENVIRONMENT

ECOSYSTEM-BASEDDECISION MAKING

• PARTICIPATORY

• INTEGRATED

SOCIETY ECONOMY‘ECO-SYSTEMHEALTH’

ENVIRONMENT

ECOSYSTEM-BASEDDECISION MAKING

Fragmented decision-making

ISSUE federal /national

municipal

public

private

provincial /state

regional

otherinterests

communitygroups

Integrated decision-making

regional

provincial/state

municipal

private

communitygroups

publicother interests

federal/national

ISSUE

SDKI Approach

SDKI – Vision and Mission

VISION:“To achieve Sustainable Development through emancipation of knowledge and optimum adoption of suitable ICT driven Innovations, methods, technologies and tools pertaining to every socioeconomic sectors of growth for all-round development of the country and humanity.”

Mission:To bring in prosperity in human life by leveraging the country’s economy to greater height by tapping our rich potential in education and skills, energy, earth sciences, environment, health, industries and Information Communication Technologies through knowledge and innovation based Sustainable Development etc.

SDKI for Clean GangaTo identify the stake holders in Ganga life Cycle

Establish autonomous working groups, inter linking of various interest groups

Link the Clean Ganga Mission with CSR and Clean India Mission

Active mobilisation of youth and children in driving the mission

Extensive use of Satellite, GSM, Communication and Information Technology tools

To link Clean Ganga Mission with livelihood, removing the fear, psychosis

SDKI for Clean Ganga• Sugar, Pulp and Paper, Chemical Industries are the major industrial sectors responsible

for the water pollution (NMCG survey).

• SDKI will Use Digital platform, innovative ways, R&D for the reduction of discharge from sugar and other industries.

• Interact with religious persons/organisations as stakeholder, they are most effective in Indian setup who can promote the cause of Clean Ganga.

• The STPs are there for more than 20 years and are not sufficient. More rigorous monitoring is required, here SDKI can play an important role in being more innovative rather than procedural.

• An exclusive Nirmal Ganga portal will be created where all the stakeholder (Govts, Industry, R&D, Academia, Youth, farmers and common public) will meet on a single platform.