Conclusion and Way Forward
The efforts of the government of India in E-governance are extremely laudable. The various initiatives brought about through E-governance have found great appreciation from critics and various studies and reports. The launch of the ‘Digital India Mission’ has further strengthened the enforcement of e-governance. There are many appreciable initiatives like dashboards of different ministries which show the work status over different years, various portals which give real time information. The availability of such systems has made things more transparent for the common public with more outreach of the beneficiaries for receiving adequate governmental aid. We have discussed the e-governance mechanisms in India, primarily focusing on Agriculture, Sewage management, forestry and the environmental flow of rivers. The current study focused on these areas as they are also critical components for the Namami Gange Program. Here we propose a convergence network of these four sectors for the well-being of Ganga basin dwellers and the maintenance of river water quality while incorporating the four models of e-governance.
The use of organic fertilizers in the Ganga basin should be promoted so as to reduce toxic pollutants which come through agriculture runoff upon using chemical fertilizers, mix with the river water and contaminate them. Accurate soil testing and digital mode of fertilizer recommendation would enable farmers to know the correct doses of fertilizers and pesticides to be used. GIS mapping-based prediction of crop yield should be the other component. In the next sector we propose actual sludge monitoring at the STPs. The monitoring of waste water treatment and its availability already exists as part of digital initiatives of the CPCB. Sludge generation, its treatment and reuse for various purposes could become the important aspect in this sector owing to the huge number of STPs commissioned under Namami Gange Program and the unmanageable amounts of sludge generated on a daily basis. The monitoring of e-flow of rivers also is existent. Along with this, in the third sector we propose geo-mapping and geo-fencing-based mapping of wetland areas near the Ganga basin. Online monitoring system that could govern the wetlands and determine the adequate e-flow in order to prevent drought, as well as floods, could become one of the most important aspects. In the fourth sector afforestation of plants in the Ganga basin is proposed. In order to minimize the wastage of money on afforestation programs which do not grow trees as per the agroclimatic zone, the GIS-based platform could be most valuable. Digital monitoring and suggestions based on agro climatic zones would enable in growing desirable species of plants which can minimize the problem of soil erosion. The GIS based system could also help in continuous monitoring of the status of afforested lands. The four models of e-governance should be taken up in close concourse so as to disseminate, monitor and upgrade the information and status of the river.
Thus, we come to the conclusion that many past initiatives have been undertaken for cleaning of Ganga River and have fared to different extents. With the advent of the era of information and communications technology and enforcement of the digital India program, it becomes of utmost necessity to use these tools to bring about the desirable outputs along with continuous monitoring. Digital initiatives under Namami Gange Program could be able to improve the current status in the different sectors. The efforts under e-governance should thus be undertaken for Namami Gange Program as envisioned in this manuscript for protecting the river and improving the lives of people dependent on it.
Conflict of Interest: The authors declared no conflict of interest.
Acknowledgment: The authors express their deep sense of gratitude to Honorable Swami Ramdev ji for his guidance and support. The swift administrative support from Mr. Lalit Mohan is also highly acknowledged.
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