Development vs religious sentiments: Government to use British-era pact to clear air over Ganga hydel projects

NEW DELHI: This old English idiom is usually used as a proxy to denote impossibility, but the union environment ministry may be about to show that it is sometimes possible to have one’s cake and eat it too.

Stuck with a dilemma on the need to balance religious concerns while at the same time not be against development, the Prakash Javadekar-led ministry has, officials say, dusted up and sought refuge in a 99-year-old British-era agreement to ensure Hindu sentiments are not hurt in any way even if hydroelectric power projects do come up on the Ganga.

It helps that the 1916 agreement with the British was brokered by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, one of the icons in the Hindutva pantheon and whose imprimatur could also help bolster acceptability for the government’s plans with possible detractors on the Hindu right.

The Malviya-brokered agreement provided for the uninterrupted and unchecked flow of Ganga waters at all times right through Har ki Pauri and Brahma Kund in Haridwar, a sacred spot for millions of Hindus for performing religious services.

The environment ministry is creatively using that agreement to interpret that even if a new hydel project or barrage does come up on the Ganga, a portion of the river waters would be allowed to flow uninterrupted up to the Har ki Pauri.


Top officials in the ministry confirmed to ET that the 1916 agreement was being used as a model text to allay apprehensions that devout Hindus may have over the possible impact of hydel projects on the efficacy of Ganga waters. The environment ministry has even cited this agreement in its affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court.

"The 1916 agreement’s basic thrust and focus is on the ‘Aviral Dhara’ (continuous flow) of the river. This sentiment is of religious value and will be kept in mind… The idea is to ensure that at least some part of the river waters flow naturally and uninterrupted by any hydel power structure or barrage right through. Such an arrangement will have to be incorporated in the design of every barrage or dam structure that does come up along the river in Uttarakhand," a senior ministry official told ET.

Earlier this month, the environment ministry told the Supreme Court that it will once again have an expert body review the report of a committee into six proposed hydel projects in Uttarakhand and come out with a final view.

Its earlier green clearances were put under review after the devastating floods in the state two years ago and the issue has been pending with the top court which has asked the ministry for a clear view on the same.

The ministry’s affidavit to the court, which has been reviewed by ET, refers to the "Conference held at Hardwar on the 18th & 19th December, 1916 wherein eminent people like Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya, leading citizen and the then Secretary of Government of PWD etc. participated regarding the new Ganges Canal Works, Hardwar".

The affidavit adds: "During the conference the major issue decided were that construction of the new Ganges Canal Works would guarantee uninterrupted flow of the Ganges and continuous thread of the stream would not be interfered with."

The 1916 agreement had its roots in the plans of the then United Provinces’ irrigation department to create permanent works at Bhimgauda just above Har ki Pauri in Haridwar for regulating the flow of the Ganga. Concerned that this would completely choke the flow of Ganga at the sacred Brahma Kund, Malviya set up the Ganga Mahasabha in 1905.

The issue became a key socio-political topic of the time, with the then Maharajas of Jaipur, Bikaner, Patiala and Benares, and other Hindu leaders putting their weight behind Malviya and in the process, underscoring the importance of religious sentiment.

His efforts led to a large public protest, which eventually culminated in the 1916 agreement that assured that the unchecked flow of Ganga would not be stopped and that no decision on the Ganga will be taken without the consent of the Hindu community.