IDEAthon on ‘The Future of River Management’ | 04 May 2020

Why in News

Recently, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) organized an IDEAthon on “The Future of River Management’.

  • The event aimed to explore how the Covid-19 crisis can shape river management strategies for the future.

Key Points

  • The IDEAthon sought to brainstorm the learnings from Covid-19 pandemic, the following lockdown and its impact on river management.
  • It examined how the social angle of rivers can be leveraged on to address other crises.
  • It sought to create a framework called River Management in a city’s Urban river management plan.
  • It aimed to garner more attention towards river management and also highlight the interconnectivity of cities with the river.
  • Namami Gange (implemented by the NMCG) and NIUA plan to bring out a policy paper based on the deliberations of the IDEAthon for river management.

National Mission for Clean Ganga

  • It is the implementation wing of the National Ganga Council.
  • NMCG was established in the year 2011 as a registered society. It is under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
  • It has a two-tier management structure and comprises the Governing Council and Executive Committee.
  • Objectives
    • To ensure effective control of pollution and rejuvenation of the river Ganga by adopting a river basin approach to promote inter-sectoral coordination for comprehensive planning and management.
    • To maintain minimum ecological flows in the river Ganga with the aim of ensuring water quality and environmentally sustainable development.

National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)

  • NIUA is an institute for research, training and information dissemination in urban development and management.
  • It is located in New Delhi, India.
  • It was established in 1976 as an autonomous body under the Societies Registration Act.
  • The Institute is supported by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,Government of India, State Governments, urban and regional development authorities and other agencies concerned with urban issues

Source: PIB