Government plans geospatial mapping and monitoring of areas in Ganga Basin to check water quality

NEW DELHI:  The Centre is considering using geospatial technology for mapping and monitoring water quality, and waste dumps in the river channel and to generate flood hazard potential zones on the entire Ganga Basin.

A proposal to develop a geo-portal of the entire Ganga basin by the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun (IIRS) was considered during the latest meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) at a proposed cost of Rs 5.4 crore.  

The research proposal was conceptualized on the basis of the use of space inputs in the monitoring of the Ganga River & special emphasis was on the development of tools & dashboards that can be used by field-level volunteers associated with NMCG.

The main objectives of this project are to develop a geo-portal of the entire Ganga basin for visualization and analysis of hydro-meteorological and other thematic parameters, to develop a geospatial solution for mapping and monitoring river water quality in respect of a few parameters, water level, and solid waste dumps in the active river channel or buffer area of the selected river stretches and to generate flood hazard potential zones for the selected stretch using geospatial techniques.

During the presentation, the IISR team said that the possible outcome of the study would be to develop a Geo-portal (Geo-Ganga) to visualise and analyse the hydro-meteorological and other thematic parameters base-map, land use land cover, soil, streams, river discharge gauging sites, water quality sites, transport infrastructure, topography, geology, water resources projects, location STPs/Ghats. There will also be a mobile mapping solution/app for water quality assessment and solid waste site management.