What is the main objective behind ganga-yamuna action plan?

The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was launched in 1985 with the main objective of pollution abatement of river Ganga. The GAP envisages pollution abatement through interception, diversion and treatment of domestic sewage and industrial effluents along the course of the river. The river Ganga originates from the Gangotri glacier and flows through the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, covering a distance of about 2525 km, before out-falling into the Bay of Bengal.

Recognising the gravity of the pollution and also keeping in view the varied sources and nature of pollution, the river Ganga was divided into different stretches – stretch from Gomukh (origin of Ganga) to Haridwar, stretch from Haridwar to Unnao downstream of Kanpur and stretch from Unnao to Ballia downstream of Varanasi. Later on, the programme coverage was extended to cover river Ganga from Gomukh to Ganga Sagar covering all pollution prone areas. The programme was then known as Ganga Action Plan – I (GAP-I) and Ganga Action Plan – II (GAP-II) covering urban and rural pollution abatement works respectively.

The GAP consists of the following components:

- Interception and diversion of sewage flowing directly into the river

- Treatment of sewage before it is discharged into the river

- Construction of low cost sanitation facilities in rural areas

- Industrial effluent treatment

The Ganga Action Plan has been successful in reducing pollution levels in the river, but it has not been able to completely clean it up. The main challenges that the GAP faces are:

- The large size of the river basin

- The high population density in the area

- The lack of infrastructure for sewage treatment

- The high cost of cleaning up the river.