A series of symposiums on River Rejuvenation & Water Resource Management will be held in the State of Uttar Pradesh (India) from end of June until end of August. It is accompanied by an inspiring multi-media exhibition to showcase local efforts made to rejuvenate one of the most polluted rivers in the Ganga basin, the River Hindon. “The traveling exhibition – so-called Hindon Yatra – demonstrates the power of multi-stakeholder approaches to river rejuvenation and provides a common platform for divergent groups to address local challenges”, says Siddhartha Prakash (Uttar Pradesh State Representative at 2030 WRG in India).

Multi-Stakeholder Approaches

A participatory tributary approach to river rejuvenation is gaining momentum across the country. Recent examples include the water quality monitoring stations of National Mission for Clean Ganga, World Wildlife Fund’s vision on cleaning up the Ramganga River in Uttar Pradesh, the Noyyal River Restoration Federation in Tamil Nadu and the ‘Punjab Model’ of the Kali Bein rivulet. The Hindon River, which is a tributary of the Yamuna River, originates in the Saharanpur district at the foothills of the Shivalik range and flows across the industrial belt of Western Uttar Pradesh before discharging into the Yamuna River in Noida. Due to urban, agricultural, and industrial waste which is being released without sufficient treatment into its waters, the Hindon is now one of the most polluted stretches in the Ganga basin.

Vision development for river rejuvenation

Ensuring continuous and unpolluted flow in the Hindon River and its tributaries is in the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh’ list of priorities. For this purpose a vision document is being prepared with the Department of Irrigation & Water Resources as nodal agency. Target is to achieve tangible outcomes through projects in the basin. To guide implementation from a strategic, timely and budgetary standpoint, a Steering Committee headed by the State’s Chief Secretary is being formed.

From Vision to Action

The Hindon Yatra platform serves to unite divergent stakeholders, seek inputs for vision development and capture local best practices to develop larger projects for river rejuvenation. NGOs, industry, academia, local administration and the government of Uttar Pradesh will demonstrate how their collective efforts can serve as a model for participatory approaches in the Ganga basin and beyond.

Expert advisors comprising of senior leaders in the agricultural, industrial, domestic and ecological sectors are guiding the compilation of good practices from the Hindon basin into a compendium and multi-media exhibition. Examples of initiatives include topics such as solid waste management, composting and organic farming, agri-water use efficiency, water treatment technologies and recycling of waste water and groundwater recharge. Demonstrating good practices may inspire and encourage stakeholder groups and inhabitants in the basin to collaborate and undertake further actions going forward.

While 2030 Water Resources Group serves as secretariat, logistics, financial and in kind support will be provided by the stakeholders involved as participants and owners of the process.