The union government of India is seriously considering a proposal to sell properties on riverfronts for commercial development and exploitation in various cities across the country. This initiative has been taken up in a bid to contemporize and modernize the cleaning process of over polluted rivers such as Ganga, Yamuna etc. and make riverfronts clean and sustainable. In countries like Singapore, Italy etc. these steps are already in place and the river fronts though highly commercialized are far cleaner. There exists a series of walkways, green spaces, parks, restaurants etc. on the river fronts which generate several thousand dollars of revenue for the countries. It is high time India took similar steps rather than letting religious entities takeover riverfronts and fill them with filth.
Once the proposal gets the approval of the government and ministry of environment and forests, the properties will be surveyed and put up for sale. This proposal will enable builders and property developers to bid and purchase prime riverfront plots in cities across the country.
The proposal has not gone down well with environmentalists though, the greens are crying truant and raising alarm over the proposals, specifically targeting the Commonwealth Games Village which is coming up on the Yamuna river bed in Delhi. These protests have not deterred the government from framing a policy to allow commercial development of riverfront properties across the country.
The government’s argument is that the sale of these prime lands along rivers will raise adequate revenues which can then be deployed in the clean up operations of these rivers.
This proposal is part of a concept paper titled Revamping the River Conservation Strategy prepared by ministry of environment and forest, and once approved, it will open up riverfronts in Delhi, Kolkata, Agra, Varanasi and other smaller cities for commercial exploitation. Currently the paper is being circulated among local bureaucrats, politicians, religious leaders, environmentalists and eminent citizens for comments and suggestions.
The concept paper states that as highways can get funds through ribbon development, through inflation of land values, rivers offer opportunities by increased value of riverfront land which should be utilized for national development. In the paper, the ministry cites the examples of several modern cities across the world to propagate its argument to convert rivers as a point of attraction of commerce and value. The policy paper suggests that state governments have an opportunity to mobilize resources for investing in river development by exploring such revenue options.
The concept paper is critical of the current centrally sponsored National River Conservation Plan. Thousands of crores have been invested by the Union government on the plan, which is aimed at tackling pollution of river waters. But according to the concept paper, this plan is an utter failure and has failed to create an arrangement to address multiple tasks related to the management of river systems.
This paper offers a solution in the form of a new system of tripartite memoranda of understanding involving the Centre, state and local governments to develop riverfronts. Under the schema, Central funding will be confined to a one-time grant for creation of durable assets like water treatment plants, while the responsibility of administering and running the system will be upon the state and local authorities.
The proposal while offering hope to several small cities in the form of development opportunities also presents a great challenge. In India where all river fronts are controlled by religious bodies such as temples, ‘Maths’ etc. it would be virtually impossible to auction or sell the land to private builders. For instance millions of people throng to Varanasi to perform the last rites of their parents at these river front pilgrim centers. How can the government in one stroke sell these properties to builders for commercial development?
