Madhya Pradesh State PCS

• 30 May 2024

Encroachments to be Removed from Madhya Pradesh Rivers

Why in News?

According to the sources, a campaign will begin to remove encroachment from rivers and ponds located in rural and urban areas of the district which includes Saraswati and Kanh rivers of the city.

Key Points

• Under the drive,there should be no encroachment within 30 metres of rivers. Action will be taken to remove encroachment from 20 identified ponds of the city and master plan area. Similarly, encroachments are also being removed from 56 pounds in rural areas.
• The sewerage should not be allowed to enter these ponds. Concrete arrangements should be made for this. A mega campaign of tree plantation will also be conducted in the entire district including the city.

Saraswati river

• It is a river flowing through Indore. It doesn't contain freshwater but instead has become polluted mainly due to the pollution of the Kanh river.
• The river flows into a larger body through Kshipra river.
  • The Shipra (Kshipra), a tributary of the Chambal River in Madhya Pradesh, flows across the Malwa Plateau.
  • It originates in the Vindhya Range from a hill called Kakri-Tekdi, which is in the north of Dhar and situated near Ujjain.
  • Khan and Gambhir are its major tributaries.

Kanh river

• Kanh is a river flowing through Indore. The river started carrying sewage in the early 1990s. Several attempts have been made to clean the river, yet it remains polluted.
• The river, along with the Saraswati River, is a part of the Smart City Indore project, and a riverfront spanning 3.9 kilometres has already been developed along the river.Both the rivers are being rejuvenated under the Smart Cities Mission.
• In 2023 the Union government sanctioned Rs. 511.15 Crore for the cleaning of the Kanh and Saraswati rivers, under the 'Namami Gange Programme’.