Will soon clear stand on minimum e-flow of Ganga: Uma Bharti

The Water Resources Ministry is soon going to come out with a clear stand on the minimum environmental flow (e-flow) required in the Ganga and other major rivers in the country, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said on Monday. The issue of e-flow is crucial for maintaining a steady water flow in the downstream areas of the Ganga and for the Ganga cleaning project, as part of the Aviral Dhara component.

"A report on the e-flow has been submitted to the ministry and even the Central Water Commission has examined it. We are deliberating further on the views of experts and we will soon declare the e-flow for Ganga and other major rivers," Bharti said. She added, "We have studied models across countries and be it power projects, irrigation projects or dam designs, we will ensure that they are not approved without determining the minimum e-flow."

The decision on e-flow is also important as environmentalists have stressed that the building of hundreds of planned hydel dams in Uttarakhand would irreversibly impact the Ganga's flow downstream. A minimum e-flow is required for the river to perform its ecological functions and it is also important from the social and cultural standpoints.

The issue of e-flow has been a contentious one and is pending for some time now. In 2015, Shashi Shekhar, then secretary, water resources ministry had even written to the Central Water Commission asking them to not approve dams or barrages until quantum of e-flow is finalised.