Experts raise concern over govt’s plan to develop roadside amenities along Ganga Path

A researcher on river water with Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) said that the quantum of the flow of water in the river Ganga is declining over the years, while the level of pollutants is going up notwithstanding the claims of checking the flow of untreated water.

PATNA: With the state’s road construction department (RCD) and urban development and housing department (UDHD) planning to reclaim around 5,000 square metre land in the Ganga river bed to develop roadside amenities, including multi-level parking, a theme park, a shopping complex, stadium and a convention centre among others in the north side of the Loknayak Ganga Path, experts have raised fear that the proposed concrete structures will badly damage the natural ecosystem of the Ganga.

The Ganga Pathway in Patna. (HT Photo)

“It would not only hamper the interconnectivity of groundwater and the river Ganga, but would also force the river to change its course and go further away from the capital city,” said a professor of water resources, National Institute of Technology (NIT), Patna, Ramakar Jha, adding that river morphology has already been affected badly due to construction of JP Setu and Ganga Pathway.

A researcher on river water with Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) said that the quantum of the flow of water in the river Ganga is declining over the years, while the level of pollutants is going up notwithstanding the claims of checking the flow of untreated water. “Decreasing flow of water and increasing pollution has already taken a massive toll on aquatic fauna of the river. Many water species have either disappeared or are on the verge of it,” said the researcher, preferring anonymity.

The Bihar State Road Development Corporation (BSRDC), a construction wing of the RCD, came out with an advertisement in various newspapers on February 20 inviting reputed architectural firms to submit their request for proposal (RFP) for ‘preparation of a master plan, comprehensive architectural and structural design with the supervision of development and construction of urban landscaping along Patna riverfront at Ganga Pathway’. “The layouts of roadside urban amenities would be finalised by the consultant as the master plan,” said an engineer of RCD familiar with the matter.

Officials of the RCD said that a comprehensive plan for the development of roadside amenities was discussed and approved at a meeting chaired by deputy chief minister Tejashwi Prasad Yadav in which additional chief secretary, RCD, Pratyay Amrit was also present.

“We will decide on the funding arrangement for fresh infrastructure once the detailed project report (DPR) is finalised,” said a senior officer of the BSRDC.

A recently retired officer of the BSRDC said that he had objected to the plan of reclaiming land in the river’s bed when he was in service.

The retired officer said that he also fears that the proposal to raise concrete structures might face some serious hurdles, as it might require clearances from the Ganga River Basin Authority, the state environmental impact assessment authority (SEIAA), and the National waterways authority of India (NWAI). “This stretch of Ganga happens to serve as the national waterways as well,” said the retired engineer.

Another river basin expert Dinesh Mishra said that ‘the government is chasing the glamour to cater to modern day aspirations by pulling the crowd and thereby killing the natural bounty’. “The government is working on lopsided priority. And if this trend continues, river Ganga would not be left more than a drain of stinting water in the next few decades,” said Mishra