The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has released a detailed report regarding the rejuvenation of 13 major Indian rivers. The Detailed Project Report, (DPR), aims at introducing forest interventions to ensure rivers have a continuous clear flow and cleaner banks to improve aquatic biomes.
Over Rs 19,000 crore will go towards various forest interventions for these rivers over the next five year. The rejuvenation of 13 rivers has been chosen as the Jhelum Chenab, Ravi. Beas. Sutlej. Yamuna. Brahmaputra. Narmada. Godavari. Mahanadi. Krishna. Cauvery. The DPR also addresses the many tributaries of each river.
The DPR was prepared under Indian Council of Forestry Research Education, Dehradun by the Forest Research Institute (FRI). This institute had previously prepared the DPR for National Mission for Clean Ganga.
Each river has many tributaries — Jhelum has 24 Chenab rivers, Rabi has 17, Rabi’s 6, Brahmaputra’s 30 Mahanadi has 7, Krishna has 13, etc — so we looked at the whole network of rivers. The project will not only rejuvenate the rivers, but also address other important issues like desertification, biodiversity preservation, and wildlife protection in these areas, said Environment Minister Bhupender Yodav.
Forestry interventions are planned to be spread across diverse catchment areas, whether they are in urban, agricultural, or natural landscapes. The 13 rivers will receive 667 treatments and plantation plans. The project is expected to see a significant increase in forest coverage of 7,417.36 square kilometers and a rise in ground water recharge of 1,889.89million cubic meters annually.
The project will also result in the sequestration and storage of 50 million tonnes carbon dioxide in 10-year old plantations, and 74.76 millions tonnes carbon emissions in 20 year-old plantations. The DPRs list activities that will result in 344 million work-days.
(Edited By : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
