The Indian government has permitted the development of 75 destinations along with river Ganga as a sustainable economic development and tourism hub. This will include site-specific activities such as river walks, homestays, village tours, biodiversity watches, jungle safaris, and related activities.
Reports suggested that among 75 locations, 26 sites have already become started operating in six states along with Gomati, Ganga, Yamuna, and Hooghly, which is a part of the Centre’s significant goal to promote livelihood activities under the Arth Ganga concept of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
In this regard, NMCG Director General, G Asok Kumar said that “This initiative is a part of the Arth Ganga concepts started by PM Narendra Modi at the National Ganga Council Meeting in Kanpur in 2019”. According to him, this project will make people connect via economic bridges to ensure the sustainability of the NMCG’s effort in rejuvenating the Ganga and its tributaries. Jalaj is part of one of its six identified verticals- livelihood generation.
Jalaj is based on the ‘circular economy model, through which local people are mobilized to contribute to biodiversity conservation and clean river ecosystem and trained in sustainable livelihood practices.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Cabinet Minister in the Ministry of Jal Shakti (Water Resources), on August 16, launched the initiative virtually at 26 sites in six states, including Uttarakhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh. These are distributed as eleven sites in Madhya Pradesh, six in West Bengal, five in Bihar, two in Uttarakhand, and one in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
To make this initiative more powerful and efficient, specific activities have been identified for each destination. The availability of natural resources and local conditions would be the same for all destinations.
This initiative would make the Ganga and other destinations more recognized. They will promote sustainable economic development and also contribute to the country’s tourism growth. The government took a great initiative!