The Ganga waterway project’s environmental impact on the Ganga river is still unknown, despite being completed 8 years ago and costing Rs 4,633 crore

The National Green Tribunal and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change are currently deliberating whether the Jal Marg Vikas Project to National Waterway 1 (World Bank-funded) requires environmental clearance. The project on the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river systems, announced in July 2014, is scheduled to be completed by December 2023. The matter of environmental clearance has been delayed 14 times by the National Green Tribunal, according to documents analysed. IndiaSpend show.

Arun Jaitley, then Finance Minister, was killed in a car accident. Presenting the BudgetThe project was announced for the financial year 2014-15 and stated that it would increase the Ganga’s vessel capacity to at least 1,500 tons. Since 2015, the National Green Tribunal and Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, two of the key institutions charged with protecting the country’s environment, have been debating whether or not the project requires or warrants environmental clearance.

As of today, inland waters are not included in the list that requires prior environmental clearance. However, environmental clearance is required for dredging, which can be a crucial activity in the development of inland watersways.

India has 111 National Waterways that are designated on all major rivers, creeks, backwaters, estuaries and rivers. 2016 National Waterways Act. Many similar projects are available, such as the Loktak Inland Waterways Improvement ProjectManipur has a number of them.

The National Green Tribunal observed that there are many such projects in the country and it is important to determine whether an Environmental Impact Assessment Notification of 2006. (EIA Notification) is required. A decision in the Ganga Waterway’s case becomes a precedent and will be used for all inland waterways projects.

Experts recommend that the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification (2006) be amended to include inland waterways projects. This is not only in the interests of the environment, but also to ensure that waterways projects are economically and socially sustainable.

Frequent delays

The Environmental Impact Assessment Notification (2006) schedule, as amended from the time to time, lists the type and extent of activities or projects that need prior environment clearance. An Environmental Impact Assessment report is prepared using environmental baseline data that has been collected over a time period and through public hearings, if applicable.

This is then evaluated by the Expert Appraisal Commission at the level of the state or Union government. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, based on the recommendation of its Expert Appraisal Committee, grants clearance. However, there are specific conditions that depend on the type of the project. The compliance report is then provided by the project proponent. It can be accessed online.

While expeditious disposalBharat Jhunwala & Others vs Inland Waterways Authority of India and others is the brief it has given.,Since 2015, the case seeking environmental clearance for Jal Marg Vikas Project was filed. The National Green Tribunal ordered that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change form a committee to investigate the matter in 2018.

To access the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change report and to file objections, the petitioners had to approach Supreme Court. The case was then referred to the National Green Tribunal Act, which, January 10, 2020The minister directed the ministry of environment, forest and climate change to submit a report within three month, in consultations with ecological experts.

Since then, the case appears on the cause lists of the National Green TribunalActs Principal Bench 16 times and has been delayed 14 times. The National Green Tribunal Act twice reminded environment ministry to submit report orders that it has flagrantly ignored. The most recent listingThe hearing took place on April 12. The hearing was canceled because the ministry has not yet submitted its report. The next hearing will be held on May 4.

Projects environmental impact

The Jal Marg Vikas Project, or the project for Capacity Augmentation of National Waterway-1 on the Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly river systems, spans the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. It is being developed under the Ministry of Shipping by the Inland Waterways Authority of India. Rs 4633.81 croreWith the World BankOffering financial and technical assistance.

The river system stretch from Allahabad through Haldia was declaredNational Waterway -1 in 1987. The Jal Marg Vikas Project aims to increase freight-carrying capacity, and facilitate movement vessels with more than 1,500 tonnes capacity along a 1,620km stretch from Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) to Haldia (West Bengal).

The fairway, also known as the navigation channel, is being developed. It will provide 1.5 metres3 metres depth and 30 to 45 metres of bottom clearance. However, this is not a good idea. One of the most silliestThe fairway must be regularly dredged of mud in order to maintain the required depth and clearance. The riverine environment, as well as the livelihoods and lives of those who live near the rivers, can be adversely affected by dredging.

The project also requires the construction terminals, jetties and navigation locks, as well as freight villages, maintenance complexes, and cargo villages.

Nachiket Kelly, an ecologist with Wildlife Conservation Trust and a member of International Union for Conservation of Nature Cetacean Specific Group, stated that water pollution can be caused by the release of heavy metals like arsenic or other bio-contaminants. There are also risks from vessel accidents in high traffic areas that could lead to the spillage of hazardous materials from vessels. Underwater noise and wave action can have an impact on fish habitats, mollusc breeding areas, and fishing areas.

NGT Case

Bharat Jiunjhunwala, along with others, filed a petition to the National Green Tribunal in November 2015. It raised significant questions about the construction of the National Waterway-1 (the Ganga) without obtaining environmental clearance.

The applicants relied upon Entry 7(e), as amended in, of the Schedule to Environmental Impact Assessment Notification 2006. December 2009This includes ports, harbours and breakwaters as well as dredging in activities that require prior environmental clearance.

The Environmental Impact Assessment Notification (2006) further states that maintenance dredging will be exempted from environmental clearance if an Environment Management Plan is prepared.

After nearly three years’ of discussion, the National Green Tribunal directed the environment ministry, on November 1, 2018, to examine whether any environmental clearance was required for the Jal Marg Vikas Project. In consultation with experts and also to examine whether Environmental Impact Assessments must be conducted in projects relating directly to inland watersways. This exercise was completed by the environment ministry in three weeks.

The National Green Tribunal disposed of the case immediately without waiting for the report it requested. The applicants were not given the opportunity to review the report and file any objections. On February 22, 2019, the applicants approached Supreme Court in Civil Appeals No 1411 of 2019 (“Bharat Jhunjhunwala, others versus Inland Waterways Authority of India and others.

The apex court allowed the applicants to approach National Green Tribunal with their objections about the environment ministry report. The case was remanded to the tribunal. Nearly a year later on January 10, 2020, a National Green Tribunal directed the environment ministry again to consult experts and submit an report by April 27, 2020. The order was the same as the previous one. Two years passed and the National Green Tribunal twice reminded the ministry to submit its report.

The OrderA September 2, 2021 document states that the National Green Tribunal has been informed that the requirement of an environmental assessment was within the purview of Ministry of Jal Shakti. This, after six long years of deliberation.

However, there is no communication or official affidavit to show that the requirement for environmental impact assessment is not within the purview the environment ministry. The order doesn’t clarify who informed National Green Tribunal that this issue was within the Ministry of Jal Shakti’s purview. Also, the September 2 virtual hearing did not include the admission of the applicants’ counsels.

The National Green Tribunal and environment ministry are still in limbo. However, the Inland Waterways Authority of India announced that the project will be completed by December 2023. Already in 2018, and 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi opened multimodal terminals at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, and Sahibganj, Jharkhand on the Ganga.

Also in 2018 und 2019M/S Adani Port & SEZ was awarded three contracts by the inland waters authority for dredging along the Ganga stretch from Farakka-Barh to maintain the navigation channel’s water depth. Bharat Jhunjhunwala (lead petitioner in the case and former professor at Indian Institutes of Management Bengaluru) stated that the decision was taken by default because it didn’t decide on the matter. IndiaSpend. Even with the intervention of the Supreme Court, the question on the applicability EC is still open. [environmental clearance]The project is close to completion, but the decision remains elusive.

Stalling tactics

In the last seven years, the environment ministry was unclear about the requirement for an environmental clearance to permit the inland waterways project.

Manthan Adhyayan Kendra obtained the ministry’s office memorandum dated 6 March 2017, via an RTI ApplicationIt clarifies that the Jal Marg Vikas Project needs to be cleared under the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification (2006), as amended. It also clarifies that maintenance dredging cannot be exempted form clearance.

The environment ministry appointed the expert committee on May 18, 2017. endorsedThe ministry’s office memo of March 2017. The Committee ruled that all inland waterways projects must be cleared by the environment. It recommended that the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification be amended to include waterways projects as Category A projects and have an appraisal at the Central Level.

This is because all inland waterways projects are classified as Category B2 projects in the Ministry’s Environmental Impact Assessment Notification draft 2020. If this classification is maintained, inland waterways project will not require an Environment Impact Assessment.

The Manthan Adhyayan Kendra was again obtained via RTI. DocumentsIn a May 17th discussion, the environment ministry’s expert panel reiterated its earlier stand that maintenance dredging is part of the Jal Marg Vikas Project and thus requires environment clearance.

The environment ministry, however, voted against the recommendations of its own expert panel and used its Memorandum of understanding for the officeDec 21, 2017, exempted maintenance component for all inland waters projects

The MinutesThe highlights of the October 24, 2017, environment ministry meeting were revealing. The meeting was presided over by the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation. It was noted that inland waterways projects do not require environmental clearance. However, the Secretary of Ministry stated that the Environment Clearance should be applied for. The application can also be processed on a speedy basis.

The National Green Tribunal had ordered the environment ministry to submit its report based on expert opinion within three working days in November 2018. In its AnswerThe submission was made four months later by the environment ministry, but it did not provide any evidence that it had consulted specialists, as it was directed.

Instead, it submitted the minutes for the May 18, 2017 expert panel meeting. However, the ministry had already nullified their recommendations through the December 21, 2017, office memorandum which granted exemption to the maintenance-dredging component. Two-plus years later, the National Green Tribunal ordered the ministry to consult with experts and submit a written report. The ministry has not responded.

On March 8, 2022 we contacted environment ministry to obtain their comments on the status report by a panel of experts that was directed to be established in relation to the National Green Tribunal Order and the requirement of environmental clearances for inland waterways. We will update the story once we receive their response.

Protocol not followed

The Inland Waterways Authority of India prepared the document. Assessment of the Environment’s ImpactEnvironmental management plan for the main elements of the project in compliance with the World Bank Environmental Safeguard Guidelines.

These studies and reports are not included in the Environment Impact Assessment Notification (2006). This means that the ministry’s expert appraisal committee did not review the report and has not established specific terms of reference to conduct the impact assessment.

The standard protocol dictates that an appraisal committee examines the environmental impact reports, holds public hearings and then recommends environmental clearance. These conditions are legally binding. They are monitored by environmental ministry. If they are not met, any citizen can approach the judiciary.

These protocols are given the go-by and results are presented without the necessary rigour. Concerns about conflict of interest arise from the fact that these mitigation plans will be supervised by the inland waters authority, which is also a implementing agency.

The inland waterways authority, for instance, has posted a report on its website. Study of the effect of navigational activities upon Dolphin in the National Waterway. The endangered Gangetic River Dolphin according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List is protected under Schedule-I of Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.

The Ganga Waterway runs through the Vikramshila Gangetic dolphin Sanctuary in Bihar. The report concludes that vessel movement, the sound they produce, and dredging activities can have some impact on the River Ganga’s aquatic wildlife. It could also have long-term and acute impacts on the riverine ecosystem.

The report proposes an action program for protecting aquatic wildlife. The September 2020 report does not mention this. peer-reviewed studyPublished in Natures Journal Scientific ReportsMayukh Dey et. al. (2019), which examines the effects of underwater noise exposure on Gangetic Dolphins in Ganga river.

Mayukh dey, Research Affiliate at the National Conservation Foundation, stated that the inland waters authority study on the effects on Gangetic dolphins is not scientifically credible. He pointed out that the study did not include the majority of current literature on dolphins and that some of the references in the report are about the effects of noise on marine dolphins.

The marine dolphin is able to see. However, the Gangetic dolphin is functionally blind and relies upon echo-location to navigate, hunt and communicate. The river dolphin’s ability to perform their essential functions is severely affected by the sounds of machinery, such as dredging or motors on river barges.

Kelkar, Wildlife Conservation Trust co-author of the study, stated that the study is a missed opportunity because no experimental studies have been done to determine the effectiveness of mitigation measures. If this had been done, it could have shown the way to how waterways can be managed effectively to reduce their impact on biodiversity.

In 2014, the environment ministry ordered the inland waters authority to commission studies from the Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute about the impact of coal transportation along a section of the Ganga Waterway (West Bengal) from Sagar and Farakka. The StudyIt was discovered, among other things that there was a rapid shift in the fish assemblage structure, which was due to the movement of barges. However, the full impact could only have been assessed over a longer period.

The study by Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute also reveals the negative social impacts on fisherpeople, who are the most dependent on the riverine ecosystem. According to the study, fishers are heavily dependent on fish catch for their daily livelihoods. Fishing operations are affected directly by disruptions caused the barge moving. Around 38% of fishers reported losing fishing time.

The average monetary loss of fishermen was Rs 0.75 and Rs 4.35 respectively, per barge incident.[s]Movement in the lower, middle, and upper stretches. This is the Sagar-Farakka stretch which is only 560 km out of the 1,620 km length of the Ganga Waterway.

Pradeep Chatterjee (Convenor of the National Platform for Small Scale Fishworkers, Inland) stated that the installation and part of the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route, which is National Waterway-97, have been a death knell for Ganga’s fisheries and the fishing communities that depend on them.

The Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute study said that the plans that are easily implemented can mitigate the marginal impacts on fisheries, flora and fauna, and the livelihood of fishermen.

The report found that coal transported in moist conditions and covered does not have a significant impact on river ecology. It also saves diesel, which reduces the carbon footprint.

Chatterjee references The fly ash boat capsizesThese events took place on the Ganga Waterway (Indo-Bangladesh Protocol route) and the Sundarbans National Waterway-97 in 2020 and 2021 to highlight the fact that oil, coal, and fly-ash spillage combined, with turbulence caused by the continuous movement and dredging of ships and barges, are destroying what little fish stock is left. He said that small-scale fishers are suffering tremendous economic losses as ships and barges regularly run over their nets and boats, causing huge economic damage.

Dangerous precedent

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Rajya Sabha has released the latest status report. March 29, 2020Development activities are being conducted in 13 of 26 National Waterways, which includes the Jal Marg Vikas project. These 13 projects are: National Waterways of Goa: Mandovi on Zuari and Cumberjua, stretches National Waterway-4, Andhra Pradesh National Waterway-5 in OdishaThey were undergoing the process of Environment Clearance as part of the Environmental Impact Assessment Notification (2006), but the process was stalled because of the exemptions sought by the Jal Marg Vikas Project.

This would indicate that the project is close to completion without any serious environmental impact studies being done. This would also indicate that other projects are in progress in other riverine systems, without the need for impact studies.

The end result would be devastating to the environment and the fish and other animals that live there, including the Gangetic dolphin. Indias National Aquatic AnimalThis species is officially listed as endangered and can cause serious losses to the livelihoods of fishers and other communities who live along these rivers.

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