Arth Ganga Project:
Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga spoke about the Arth Ganga model during World Water Week 2022.
- ‘Arth Ganga’ implies a sustainable development model with a focus on economic activities related to Ganga.
- PM Modi first introduced the concept during the first National Ganga Council meeting in Kanpur in 2019, where he urged for a shift from Namami Gange to the model of Arth Ganga.
- Under Arth Ganga, the government is working on six verticals:
- The first is Zero Budget Natural Farming, which involves chemical-free farming on 10 km on either side of the river, and the promotion of cow dung as fertilizer through the Gobardhan scheme.
- The Monetization and Reuse of Sludge & Wastewater is the second, which seeks to reuse treated water for irrigation, industries and revenue generation for Urban Local Bodies (ULBs).
- Arth Ganga will also involve Livelihood Generation Opportunities, by creating haats where people can sell local products, medicinal plants and ayurveda.
- The fourth is to increase public participation by increasing synergies between the stakeholders involved with the river.
- The model also wants to promote the cultural heritage and tourism of Ganga and its surroundings, through boat tourism, adventure sports and by conducting yoga activities.
- Lastly, the model seeks to promote institutional building by empowering local administration for improved water governance.
World Water Week:
- World Water Week is an annual conference on global water issues which is held in the last week of August every year.
- It was started in 1991 and initially part of a public water festival in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is the organizer of World Water Week. - World Water Week is an opportunity to explore water aspects of challenges like the climate crisis, food security, energy, and many other topics.
- The week is also taken as an opportunity to discuss and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6), which is about clean water and sanitation for all.
- The theme for World Water Week 2022 is “Seeing the Unseen: The Value of Water.
