Ecology, Environment and Conservation Paper

SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROFILING OF GANGA RIVER BASIN IN FOSTERING ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN INDIA

Ghazal Salahuddin and M.Z.M. Nomani

Abstract

The socio-economic propensity of a Ganga river has a seminal bearing upon the physical profile of the land and cultural heritage of India. The socio-economic potentials of Ganga Basin are enormous because of agroclimatic blessings of perennial character and the cropping season. It produces a substantial agricultural surplus, food security and water sustainability from northern to eastern India and Bangladesh. The variability and viability of over 600 million people’s agricultural landholdings depend on the Ganga basin in India. As a bio-physical entity, The Ganga stands 34th rank among the major world rivers in terms of the bio-physical existence having a total area of only 1.01 million km2. The compact and coherent Ganga Basin at some places sustain the highest population density in the world. The paper dwells on the socio-economic profiling of Ganga basin in fostering environmental sustainability and cultural diversity and spiritual reverence of Indian people.