The Ganga is in crisis and has been for several decades. All the towns and villages along the Ganga continue to dump their industrial and household waste into the river. The BJP included the cleaning of the Ganga in its 2014 election manifesto and the government has announced a new draft law for cleaning the Ganga which includes an armed force for protecting the river with prison terms and fines for those who pollute it. But the river was still one of the most polluted rivers in the world. A CAG report last year claimed much of the funds earmarked for Ganga clean-up had not been used, projects had not been finalised and there was no long term-plan that had been finalised. On this episode of We The People, we ask How polluted is the river? What is the government doing? What has been done so far? What are 'clean river' criteria? Can the government meet its targets? Why is it difficult to clean up the Ganga?
