National Mission for Clean Ganga: The challenges ahead

National Mission for Clean Ganga: The challenges ahead
Before the advent of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Ganga, the most revered and national river of India, was facing the challenge to its existence due to discharge of increasing quantities of sewage, trade effluents and other pollutants on account of rapid urbanization and industrialization. The stretch of Ganga covers a length of 2525 kilometers across five states namely Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. It has a catchment area of 8,61,404 square km covering over a quarter of country’s land area and sustaining 46% of the total population of the country. It touches 118 towns and 1657 Gram Panchayats across 66 districts of 5 states of India.

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), created in June, 2014, is being supported by State level Programme Management Groups (SPMGs) of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand and west Bengal. The main activities undertaken under Namami Gange include sewage and effluent management including creation of new and rehabilitation of existing STPs, complete sanitation coverage of Gram Panchayats, development of model cremation/dhobi ghats, development of decision support system in GIS platform for efficient planning and monitoring and creation of an IT based monitoring centre with capabilities of real time alerts and prediction. For long term protection and rejuvenation, a provision has been made for 100% funding for the entire life time cost of the treatment of assets created including O&M cost for 10 years. Due importance has also been accorded to bio diversity, conservation, maintenance of flow in the river and afforestation along river side with medicinal and native plant species along with conservation of aquatic species.

The expenditure incurred on Namami Gange in the first three years, (ie; 2014-2015 to 2016-17) is Rs 3673.00 crore. For the current year (2017-18), an amount of Rs 2300 crore has been allocated in the budget. It is however, observed that the pace of utilization of fund under this programme has not been satisfactory. The slow implementation of project is attributed to delay in tendering, retendering, non- availability of land, legal issues, natural calamities, delay in permission for road cutting, crossing, local festivals, higher fund requirement and pending approvals of state Cabinet etc. Regular monitoring meeting of NMCG with concerned state is expected to help in expediting the pace of the projects implementation and eliminating bottlenecks in making land available and clear the projects through tendering.

The Order issued through the Gazette of India on 7thOctober, 2016 constituting River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and management) Authorities under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 lays down a new institutional structure for policy and implementation in fast track manner and empowers NMCG to discharge its functions in independent and accountable manner. The said Authority has its jurisdiction spread over 5 states along the main stem of Ganga and 5 states and Union territory of Delhi along the major tributaries of the river Ganga.

The key principles identified for the Authority are:

1) Maintaining the continuity of the flow without altering the natural season variations.
2) Restoring and maintaining the integral relationship between the surface flow and sub-surface water (ground water),
3) Restoration and maintenance of the property and quality of water in time bound manner.
4) Regenerating and maintaining the lost natural vegetation in catchment area,
5) Regeneration and conservation of the aquatic and riparian biodiversity in river Ganga basin,
6) To keep the bank of river Ganga and its floodplains as construction free zone to reduce pollution sources and maintain its natural ground water recharge functions
7) Making public participation as integral part of process of rejuvenation, protection and management of the river.

River surface cleaning work has been undertaken in major cities on the bank of River Ganga in collaboration with Corporate bodies and Public Sector undertakings. Under Rural Sanitation programme, NMCG has provided Rs 263 Crore to Ministry of Drinking Water &Sanitation for construction of toilets. About 11 lakh toilets have been constructed so far. For renovation/modernization and construction of crematoria based on standard design, initially, 20-25 urban local bodies (ULBs) are being taken up with the target of developing 100 crematoria in a year’s time.

River front/ ghat development work has been taken up in 7 towns of Kedarnath, Haridwar, Delhi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Varanasi & Patna in addition to repair and modernization of existing ghats. Under medium term plan Effluents Management activity, real Time Effluent Monitoring stations have been installed in 508 out of 764 grossly polluting industries of distillery, pulp and paper; tanneries; textile and sugar. Regarding Zero Liquid Discharge, action plan has been under implementation for distilleries since the last quarter of 2016. Vigilance squad of Central Pollution Control Board is closely monitoring for improved compliance.

Biodiversity Conservation is being implemented in association with Wildlife Institute of India to cover Golden Mahaseer, Dolphins, Crocodiles, Turtles and Otters etc under conservation programme. 30,000 Hectares of land is targeted to be covered under afforestation programme. For water quality monitoring, in addition to 57 Manual monitoring stations, 113 Real-time monitoring stations are being set up with display boards at selected locations. Steps are being taken for public outreach. Resource materials such as posters, flyers, brochures, pamphlets, hoardings etc. have been circulated/displayed among stake holders.

Awareness activities are taken up through Pad Yatras, cleanliness drives, painting competitions for children, shramdaan, talk-shows and dialogues etc. Namami Gange song has been released and played on digital media and during public events. In addition to that featured articles and advertorials through audio-visual media have also been introduced. Regular updates are shared on Social Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and You tube etc. Mass awareness campaigns, photo exhibitions , setting up Pavilions/Stalls at national/ International events have also been organized. For involvement of public in monitoring of pollution entering into the river Ganga, Bhuvan-Ganga Web App and mobile app have been launched.

In view of multi stakeholder nature of the Ganga rejuvenation challenge, 7 Ministries of Govt of India are working together on an action plan since June,2014. Besides, MoU has also been signed between NMCG and 11 Ministries of the Govt of India to ensure convergence of their activities in protection and rejuvenation of river Ganga. MoU has also been signed with National Remote Sensing Centre, a department under Indian Space Research Organization ISRO.

For Pollution abatement and cleaning exercise in river Ganga, the policy making authorities at higher level have emphasized the need of close monitoring, focus on minimizing waste generation and disposal of waste in eco- friendly manner and publicizing the use of electric crematoria for enhancing its acceptability among the masses. Uploading the monitoring reports in public domain has been recommended.

A number of decisions taken recently indicate that the pace of project implementation has picked up momentum for pollution abatement and making the flow of river incessant. State Ganga Committees and District Ganga Committees have been formed to ensure effective implementation and Participation of people in protection &rejuvenation of Ganga.

After successful Cartosat-2 launch, ISRO gears up for GSAT-17

After successful Cartosat-2 launch, ISRO gears up for GSAT-17
ISRO is also lining up more launches for the future.
Space agency ISRO is all set to launch the GSAT-17 from French Guiana on June 28, the third launch is less than a month.

“GSAT-17 is getting launched on June 28. We will be working on the replacement satellite for IRNSS-1. Our plan is to have two Mark-II and two Mark-III launches apart from eight to ten PSLV launches per year,” a beaming ISRO Chairman A S Kiran told reporters after the successful launch of PSLV-C38.

He was addressing the media after ISRO’s workhorse rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, in its 40th flight (PSLV-C38), successfully launched the Cartosat-2 series satellite, a dedicated one for the defence forces, along with 30 nano satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.

ISRO was geared up for the launch of GSAT-17 and lined up more for the future, he said.

On June 5, ISRO had launched its most powerful and heaviest geostationary rocket carrying advanced communication satellite GSAT-19, weighing 3,136 kg, from the spaceport here.

Kumar said, “we have approvals for Chandrayaan-II and Aditya. Meanwhile, we are finalising Mars Orbiter II and Venus mission. Study teams are looking at them. Very soon, we will be finalising our plan of action. Then we will get the necessary approvals from the government and move ahead.”

ISRO’s ‘Monster’ rocket sends ‘selfies’, Twitter is thrilled
About IRNSS-IA, the ISRO chief said a replacement satellite would be sent as the “clocks have stopped functioning and there is a need to replace them.”

Kumar said PSLV has emerged as a credible launch vehicle for anyone across the globe, because of the frequency at which launches are happening and also the access and timeline within which their satellites can be put into orbit.

“With each (PSLV) launch, we are trying to improve our capability in one new area, like multiple restarts, multiple orbits...different capabilities we are building. As we continue to do so, PSLV will be the in-demand vehicle for satellite launches across the world.”

“In future, we are planning communication satellites where electric propulsion systems would be used. Currently, we have put on electric propulsion system in GSAT-9 that has been tested out. The primary advantage is that it will reduce the mass of the satellite by replacing chemical propulsion system. We have a lot of plans,” he said in response to a question on what lies ahead for ISRO.

He lavished praise on the Cartosat-2 team, which soared into space this morning along with 30 other nano satellites from 14 countries apart from India.

Earlier, the mission director B Jayakumar said all the satellites launched today by PSLV-C38 had been positioned in orbit.

“With today’s launch, we have acquired the confidence that we can launch multiple satellites in multiple orbits in a single mission,” he said.

govt achievement as advertise by govt:uttarakhand

Quality of life in 116 major cities to be assessed; City Liveability Index launched

Quality of life in 116 major cities to be assessed; City Liveability Index launched

Andhra Pradesh tops in urban reforms; Rs.500 cr incentive disbursed to 16 good performers

In yet another major initiative, the Ministry of Urban Development today launched the ‘City Liveability Index’ for measuring the quality of life in 116 major cities including smart cities, capital cities and cities with a population of above one million each.
The Index, a Common Minimum Reference Framework to enable the cities know where they stand in terms of quality of life and the interventions required to improve the same was today launched by the Minister of Urban Development Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu here today at a National Workshop on Urban Transformation.
Stating that cities are now moving on a well thought out course of infrastructure development under new urban missions launched during the last three years, Shri Naidu said “ Time has now come to measure life quality in cities and rank them accordingly”.
In a first of its kind Index to be introduced in the country, cities will be assessed on a comprehensive set of 79 paratmeters to capture the extent and quality of infrastructure including availability of roads, education and health care, mobility, employment opportunities, emergency response, grievance redressal, pollution, availability of open and green spaces, cultural and entertainment opportunities etc.
After selecting the agency for undertaking this assessment next month, data collection will be completed in the next about six months.
The Ministry of Urban Development today disbursed Rs.500 cr as incentive to 16 States that performed well in implementing urban reforms during 2016-17. Progress in respect of reforms like e-governance, Audit of accounts, Tax revision policies and extent of tax revenue collection, Energy and Water Audit, Establishing State Level Financial Intermediaries for resource mobilization, Credit Rating etc., was taken into account.
Andhra Pradesh topped the list scoring 96.06% marks. Others who received the incentive fund in order of merit were; Odisha (95.38%), Jharkhand (91.98%), Chattisgarh (91.37%), Madhya Pradesh (90.20%), Telangana (86.92%), Rajasthan (84.62%), Punjab (77.02%), Kerala (75.73%), Goa (75.38*), Mizoram (75.00%), Gujarat (73.80%), Chandigarh (72.73%), Uttar Pradesh (70.67%) and Maharashtra (70.52). Marks scored by these States was considered for deciding the quantum of incentive with high scorers getting more.
Shri Rajiv Gauba, Secretary (UD) said that reform incentive fund for the next three financial years will be increased from the present allocation of Rs.900 cr to Rs.10,000 cr to promote next generation reforms that would make a substantial difference to urban governance and service delivery and resource mobilization by urban local bodies.

The roots of rural distress Forgiving farm loans is no solution. The data shows there’s a far more fundamental problem—most agricultural households are unable to keep body and soul together

There’s nothing new about rural distress. Nor is it surprising. If the income of almost 70% of farm households is less than their consumption expenditure, according to the government’s own data, then it’s obvious they’ll be “distressed”. Yet that’s the inescapable conclusion from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) report that mapped the income, expenditure and indebtedness of agricultural households in India in 2013.

Consider Chart 1, which shows average monthly income from all sources and consumption expenditure for households with different sizes of farm holdings. For households with farms up to 1 hectare, aka marginal farmers, average monthly consumption is more than total income. They can barely scratch out a living from their handkerchief-sized plots. What else can these households do but borrow to make ends meet?

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The chart also shows that for farm households that have a hectare of land or less, net receipts from cultivation make up less than half their total income. They manage to eke out a precarious living by supplementing their income with income from wage labour, animal husbandry and other non-farm businesses.

The proportion of receipts from farming goes up as land holdings increase. Any waiver of crop loans, therefore, benefits those with large landholdings the most.

The next obvious question is—how many households do we have that own 1 hectare or less? The answer (in Chart 2), again taken from NSSO figures, is 69.4%. So, the majority of agricultural households are in chronic distress, unable to keep the wolf from the door. Another 17.1% households—those owning between 1 and 2 hectares—had an average monthly surplus of Rs891. A major illness, or perhaps a couple of bad monsoons, would be enough to wipe out all their savings.

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But this is India and the broad averages do not show the whole picture. We need to look at the caste factor too: 82.7% of scheduled caste agricultural households are marginal farmers. Chart 3 shows that, for scheduled caste households, average monthly consumption expenditure exceeds monthly income in all major states except Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh (MP) and Maharashtra. Ironically, the last two states are at the forefront of the current farmers’ unrest. Eight decades after B.R. Ambedkar wrote his Annihilation of Caste, the bulk of Dalit farmers in the country are unable to scrape a bare living.

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Who will gain the most from a bank loan waiver? Chart 4 shows the sources of loans for farmers. The poorest of them borrow mainly from moneylenders and this proportion goes down as one moves up the land-holding status ladder. As is clear from the chart, it is the relatively prosperous farmers who benefit the most from a loan waiver by banks.

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How important are bank loans as a source of borrowing in the states of Uttar Pradesh(UP), MP, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, where farm loans have either been waived or where farmers are agitating for it? In MP, for marginal farmers, moneylenders are the chief source of loans, so they will benefit the least from a loan waiver by banks. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu have a lot of lending by cooperative societies, so waiving those dues is also important. In UP, it is the biggest farmers who gain the most from a bank loan waiver.

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Forgiving farm loans, as practically everybody has said, is no solution. The data shows there’s a far more fundamental problem—most agricultural households are unable to keep body and soul together. We could buy time by subsidizing their inputs and raising the prices of their produce, measures necessary in the short run to alleviate distress. But every census shows the number of marginal farmers going up, and a further sub-division of minuscule plots will only make the situation worse. In short, it’s absolutely essential to get these people off the land and into far more productive industrial employment. The alternative is mounting social unrest

What lies behind India’s falling infant mortality rate?

What lies behind India’s falling infant mortality rate?

Greater investments in public health has brought down India’s infant mortality rate faster over the past decade

The infant mortality rate saw a marked improvement over the past decade, declining from 57 per 1,000 live births in 2005-06 to 41 per 1,000 live births in 2015-16.

India’s inability to improve health outcomes significantly despite rapid growth has been one of the country’s major failings. But evidence from the latest round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) suggests that this may be changing. The infant mortality rate (IMR), an important summary measure of a country’s health, saw a marked improvement over the past decade, declining from 57 per 1,000 live births in 2005-06 to 41 per 1,000 live births in 2015-16.

The improvement over the past decade has been much faster than in the rest of the post-liberalization era. The IMR declined at a nearly constant pace of 2.5% per annum between 1992-93 and 2005-06. But the pace of decline accelerated over the past 10 years, with the IMR registering an annual decline of 3.24% per annum.

The faster decline in IMR over the past decade cannot be attributed merely to faster growth over the latter period. Over the past decade, the effectiveness of growth in lowering IMR increased, thanks to greater public investments in health, our research suggests.

Between 1992-93 and 1998-99, and between 1998-99 and 2005-06, every percentage point of economic growth led to about 0.38 percentage point of decline in IMR. Between 2005-06 and 2015-16, every percentage point of economic growth led to 0.43 percentage point decline in the IMR.

This is a significant improvement in terms of absolute numbers of lives saved. If the effectiveness of economic growth to translate into improvements in IMR had remained the same as over the 1990s, then the all-India IMR in 2015-16 would have been 42.55 instead of 41. That would have meant 1.55 more infant deaths for every 1,000 live births, and would have translated to a total of about 40,643 more infant deaths in 2015.

This improvement in IMR has coincided with an improvement in public health spending, and the rollout of a National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) focusing on the healthcare needs of under-served rural areas in 2005. Despite leakages, the mission helped set up rural health infrastructure in areas where it was non-existent earlier, and helped raise a cadre of community health workers (ASHA workers) who worked as the frontline staff of the mission in improving health outcomes, especially of women and newborns.

All of this was enabled by increased funding. Between 2004 and 2014, public health expenditure increased from 1% to 1.4% of the GDP, a 40% increase over a decade.

In recent research published in the Journal of Development Studies, my colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Andrew Barenberg and Ceren Soylu, and I have examined data for 31 states and Union territories in India over the period 1983-84 to 2011-12 to estimate the causal impact of public health expenditure on the IMR. We control for possible confounding factors such as state level GDP, female literacy rate, urbanization, and use exogenous variation in the fiscal capacity of states—measured by the tax revenue and non-tax revenue of states—to find the effect of public health expenditure on the IMR. Our research suggests that an increase in public health expenditure by 1% of state-level GDP leads to a decline in the IMR by about 9 deaths per 1,000 live births, even after controlling for all other factors.

These findings suggest that the decline in IMR over the past decade was caused, at least in part, by growing public expenditure on health.

The draft National Health Policy announced by the Union Cabinet earlier this year intends to take health spending to 2.5% of the GDP in a time-bound manner. Our research suggests that this should help India improve health outcomes more rapidly.

GOOD NEWS FOR UTTARAKHAND NSSO SURVEY SEX RATIO OF UK :1015

GOOD NEWS FOR UTTARAKHAND
NSSO SURVEY
SEX RATIO OF UK :1015