IDEAthon on ‘The Future of River Management’

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