Saving the rivers is a must
A pparently, there is no lack of lofty words from the relevant agencies regarding the need to preserve our rivers; but we see very little substantive action to free the rivers of encroachment and resuscitate them back to their original state.
Despite a 17-point directive by the High Court that set clear guidelines for saving the country's rivers and wetlands, things have not changed for the better. This directive comes in the backdrop of an earlier ruling by the HC in 2009, and yet we see little initiative to implement either of the rulings. Unfortunately, from what has been reported in media, the DCs followed neither the records, nor did they abide by river laws when conducting the survey. The end result is that the four major rivers skirting the capital have actually narrowed after a slipshod demarcation effort, and today we find some 9,500 or so boundary pillars that are situated in the rivers or river foreshore lines. Experts deem the survey to be a flawed one and the chairman of the National River Commission has stated that due to deficiency of knowledge on river and land-related laws, authorities did not have the courage to demarcate the rivers as per law. In other words, their "lack of courage" has not only validated encroachment of the rivers, it has encouraged more of the same.
Restoring rivers to their original state is possible under current laws, according to the river commission. The port act, inland shipping ordinance, wetland conservation act, water act and water development board act all have sections that can be applied to halt this seemingly endless encroachment of rivers by third parties. But before that, we suggest the government takes up a macro view of all the rivers in the country and chalk out a comprehensive plan, without spending energy and wasting money on piecemeal projects.
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