In June 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched an integrated Ganga conservation mission called ‘Namami Gange’ to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga. In May 2020, amid the pandemic, Namami Gange initiated a project for organic farming in the villages along Ganga right from its source in Gangotri in Uttarakhand till Gangasagar in West Bengal to curb pollution in its water. The agriculture departments of the respective states have the responsibility of implementing the project and the stakeholders are different bodies working in organic farming and the farmers residing in villages along river Ganga.
In Haridwar district, under Namami Gange Program, SARG Vikas Samiti has been allotted 10,000 hectares of land. More than 11,600 farmers are registered under it. Despite the problems created by the pandemic, the farmers are actively participating and the project is being implemented well. Farmers have always had a heart for organic farming. They are now very much familiar with the ill effects that the conventional chemical farming, which they currently practice, is causing to their life and health. They have found organic farming an easy to adopt alternative for their conventional farming system. The cost of production has come down to almost nil, the health of the soil has improved, the crop yields are satisfactory, and the prices that farmers get for organic crops are higher. According to farmers, their earnings have increased by more than 50 percent.
