RIVERS’ REJUVENATION GAME CHANGER
There is no doubt that across the world wherever the land chunks have rivers in the close proximity there is lots of greenery and development and in many countries the governments have developed the places to bring in prosperity, wealth and good life by exploring and exploiting all the aspects with respect to presence of water. If utilized in a pragmatic manner the rivers can be game changers but traditionally, things were not taken up scientifically leading to wastage of these vital natural resources in the country. It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who kindled the hope for using every single drop of water of the rivers before the same be allowed to cross over to the other side of the fence viz Pakistan in majority of cases. There is an Indus-Water treaty between the two neighbouring countries clearly defining the water rights of the rivers originating from India and entering Pakistan. Of course, the Prime Minister never meant to go contrary to the water agreement but utilizing the waters which are meant for India to bring in development and prosperity is the wise thing and now the government has started doing the same. In this context, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has released the Detailed Project Reports (DPR) prepared by Indian Council of Forestry, Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun for Rejuvenation of 13 major rivers including Chenab and Jhelum in Jammu and Kashmir and Ravi whose water is shared by J&K and Punjab. This important information was shared by union minister A K Choubey in Lok Sabha. Focusing on rivers of concern as far as J&K is concerned the Jhelum’s treatment areas as per DPR has been mentioned as 80.85 square kilometres, Chenab’s 91.07 square kilometres and Ravi’s 88.23 square kilometres. The major initiatives under this rejuvenation project include extensive tree plantation, soil and moisture conservation works in the catchment area and river front development to increase green cover and carbon sink, reduce silt load and flooding and enhance ground water recharge, etc. There is another vital aspect of this project and that is providing employment to a large chunk of the population. Thus it is likely that the measure to rejuvenate the rivers will come as a major boost to revive local economies, improve agriculture, boost tourism and above all generate employment in the vicinity.