Municipal commissioners to oversee river rejuvenation program

24 Jan 2023 CW Team

Instead of district collectors, municipal commissioners from Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and Thane will now serve as the program's chairman for the Maharashtra government's "Chala Januya Nadila" (Know Our River) initiative. The change intends to enhance the program's execution.

The state government established this program to enhance the condition of the state's waterways. For short- and long-term government measures to raise biodiversity and improve water quality, over 103 rivers have been shortlisted.

The program's completion deadlines have been extended by six months. Prior schedules said that the program would start for at least 75 rivers in the state until January 26, 2023. The district-level committees had until January 20, 2023, to complete their reports, and they had until January 22, 2023, to submit them to the government. The last day to submit applications has been moved up to August 15.

To educate the public about maintaining the health of these water bodies, the state government of Maharashtra initiated the rejuvenation initiative for 103 rivers in September 2022. A "Nadi Samvad" Yatra and the "Chala Januya Nadila" (Know Our Rivers) campaign were initiated by the Tourism and Cultural Affairs Department.

Indrayani, Pawna, Velganga, Mutha, Khushivali, Bhatsa, and Bharangi rivers are in Pune; Ulhas, Dahisar, Mithi, Walghat, Oshiwara, and Poisar rivers are in Mumbai; and Krishna and its tributaries, Bhima, are in Pune.

The initiative intends to, among other things, map the state of rivers from their source to their mouth, research the cultural interactions of people with rivers, take time-bound action to reduce river pollution, and map encroachments.

The state government made the decision on September 30, 2022, and on October 14, 2022, it released a resolution outlining the goals and road plan.

During the project's implementation, district-level officials—who are in charge of it—found out that in some municipal corporations in the state, the commissioner has more authority over waterways than the district collector.

The programme coordinator for Mumbai, Senal Dhonde said, “We requested the government that in the case of Mumbai especially, the Municipal Commissioner holds greater power than the district collector when it comes to maintenance of rivers. Hence, instead of the district collector, the municipal commissioner should head the committee. Our demands were met, but they are now applicable to four other cities.”