Revitalization of Rivers in India Draft Policy - Isha Guru Jaggi Vasudev

Revitalization of Rivers In India
Draft Policy Recommendation
he initiative to revitalize rivers has to become a nationwide
T
movement in order to bring about lasting change.
Revitalization of rivers is not only the responsibility of
the government, it is also that of all those who use water.
It requires the coming together of all of us as a nation to
realize that a river is no more perceived as a commodity, but as an entity
that lives, an entity that breathes life into billions of living beings including
human beings.
The paradigm of water management that exists today clearly reflects
the lack of a perception of rivers being a single entity. Today, rivers are
perceived as a source of drinking water, irrigation, as a resource that can
be used to produce energy or as a commodity used as an input into the
production of all the goods we use – cars, phones, or books. This perception
needs to change.
Having revered our rivers at one point in time, we have forgotten this
reverence today. It is high time we realize the wisdom in that consciousness
- to not abuse something that is fundamental to life but to conserve and use
it. We have come to a point where if we exploit our resources any further,
it would signal disaster for humankind. Right now, though we may still
be reverential towards water, we have come so far from the fundamental
wisdom of conserving water in our daily living that, as a community, we no
longer seem to know how to go about it.
In this chapter we attempt to bridge this gap that lies between the
idea of “conserve and use” of rivers and the actions needed to make this
conservation a way of living for our society. We do this by outlining how
each individual in their own capacity – say, as a consumer, an industrialist,
or a farmer – can do their bit in revitalizing rivers. We do not see a conflict
between ecology and economy. All stakeholders - rivers, farmers, tribals and
other traditional communities dwelling in forests, consumers and industry –
need to benefit from a policy aimed at revitalization of rivers. We also seek to
outline the institutional setup that would be required to support them. While
we have a strong legal framework for prevention of water pollution and sand
181