Manoj Kumar Mishra, the protector of Yamuna and many other rivers, is also no more. He passed away on 4 June After battling Covid-19 for almost two months, at a time when many of us thought the pandemic was over and done with.
Although a forester by profession – he spent 22 years in the Indian Forest Service in undivided Madhya Pradesh – conserving the rivers became his mission. With Manoj, his passion for rivers was contagious. As the convenor of Yamuna Ji Abhiyan, he used everything at his disposal to protect the Yamuna: from writing in traditional and social media, to making various representations, organizing awareness programmes, to litigation in the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to reach the riverine communities. ,
It was because of his persistent efforts since 2011 that the NGT delivered its judgment in 2015, paving the way for the Nirmal Yamuna Rejuvenation Scheme. In March 2016, Manoj took the three-day World Cultural Festival on the Yamuna floodplains to the NGT, which constituted a supervisory committee headed by this author (Shashi Shekhar), based on whose report the NGT imposed a pollution and a fine of ₹5 crore for damages caused by the incident. Perhaps even more important, Manoj was heavily involved in the drafting of the Subordinate Legislation on the Ganges, which still provides the legal framework for the river today.
Manoj helped the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) draft the first set of rules for river regulation areas. He questioned the setting up of hydro-electric projects in the eco-fragile Himalayas and was a vocal critic of the new concept of river beautification in the form of river front development in the urban stretches of our rivers, which adversely affected the integrity of river systems.
When I (Shashi Shekhar) was Additional Secretary in MoEF, there was a devastating flood and landslide in and around Kedarnath in June 2013. , As secretary, I had to submit an affidavit in the Supreme Court. The inputs provided by Manoj were very important in the preparation of the affidavit, which has helped to a great extent in preventing further reckless construction in Uttarakhand. There have been many occasions when Manoj has provided insight to those in government so that they can take an informed position. I cite these as examples of ‘activating from within’ and ‘activating from the outside’ to produce positive results.
It was his passion for rivers that propelled him along with a few others to set up the India River Forum (IRF) in 2014. IRF is an active network of organizations and individuals dedicated to the rejuvenation and restoration of rivers. Manoj was the one who put it together.
Manoj Mishra’s inputs in the draft National Water Policy 2020
Manoj provided important inputs to the draft National Water Policy 2020 prepared by the Mihir Shah Committee. Both of us were also members of this committee. His presentation before the committee and the note submitted by him gave us a glimpse of his worldview about rivers and their governance. He believed in the existential rights of rivers. He said that healthy rivers are necessary for the water security of the country. For him, protection and restoration of rivers is a constitutional duty of the citizens as well as the state.
He was against destructive interventions on rivers, such as straightening and concreting of river embankments and artificial beautification of urban stretches in the name of riverfront development. All of these play havoc with river morphology, biodiversity and aquifer linkages.
One of his important suggestions to the committee was to make river basins as units of developmental planning so that the integrity of the basins could be taken into account during the planning stage itself. He argued for legislative support for river rejuvenation in the form of a comprehensive framework of river basin rejuvenation legislation. He wanted the new National Water Policy to bring about radical changes in river management and shift the focus from ‘river development’ to ‘river conservation and rejuvenation’.
Ken is an outspoken critic of the Betwa river link project.
He was critical of the Interlinking of Rivers (ILR) project and particularly the Ken Betwa Link project. The Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India wrote a letter to the Prime Minister on January 21, 2022, after the Cabinet Committee headed by the PM approved the project. Manoj, a member of the steering committee of Jal Sangharsh Manch, coordinated his work on this. He wrote a letter to the PM.
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His main argument in the letter was that the Ken-Betwa link project is illegal and a lose-lose proposition. He mainly used the findings of the Central Empowered Committee set up by the Supreme Court to draft this paper.
Manoj gave three main arguments. One, the wildlife clearance granted by the Standing Committee of NBWL is illegal. Two, this project will sound the end bell for the Panna Tiger Reserve. Three, there are cheaper, faster and more sustainable alternatives to the project available. To develop such an alternative, Manoj helped bring together some relevant organizations and experts. Unfortunately, it remains an unfinished business.
Wild Life @ 50 and Water Tales
Manoj took out the edited book, Wildlife @ 50: Saving the Wild, Securing the Future2022 marks the completion of 50 years of the enactment of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. It traces 50 years of India’s wildlife journey through the eyes and experiences of a diverse group of authors. Just before he passed away, he was in the middle of editing a book on water, which he had tentatively titled ‘Water Tales: 50 Years of Water Stewardship in India’.,‘ He got 30-odd writers to contribute. His aim was to get it published in 2024, the 50th anniversary of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974.
Incidentally, Manoj died on the same day when the Yamuna Sansad (Yamuna Parliament) was organized in Delhi. What his family wrote in Hindi on their Twitter handle to break the sad news of his demise says a lot. Translated it reads, “I may or may not be there. But I will keep spreading my fragrance. Yes Manoj, we need your fragrance and many more to carry forward the legacy that you left behind.” Are.
KJ Joy SOPPECOM and Forum for Policy Dialogue on Water Conflicts in India; Shashi Shekhar is former Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India