Enumerate the National Water Policy of India. Taking the river Ganges as an example, discuss the strategies that may be adopted for river-water pollution control and management. What are the legal provisions for the management and handling of hazardous wastes in India?

Introduction: The National Water Policy, 2012 is the apex non-statutory framework that treats water as a finite, vulnerable resource and seeks a unified national plan for its conservation and equitable use across competing demands.

Policy thrusts: after meeting priority drinking, sanitation, food-security and minimum ecosystem needs, water is to be treated as an economic good to curb waste; a statutory Water Regulatory Authority to fix tariffs; river basins as the unit of planning; minimum environmental flows in every river; recycling, reuse and demand management; and participatory management by user communities.

Ganga strategies:

• Intercept, divert and treat municipal sewage through Sewage Treatment Plants, since untreated sewage is the largest pollution source along the river.
• Enforce zero-liquid-discharge on tanneries and other industries via Common Effluent Treatment Plants and real-time online monitoring.
• Maintain ecological flow ('aviral dhara') and restore wetlands, floodplains and riparian forests.
• Run the whole-basin approach under the National Mission for Clean Ganga with public participation and Ganga-Gram sanitation.

Hazardous-waste law: The parent statute is the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, under which the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 govern storage, packaging, transport, recycling, treatment and disposal. The Central Pollution Control Board and State Boards authorise generators and recyclers, while transboundary movement of such waste follows the Basel Convention.

Conclusion: Integrated basin governance backed by strict enforcement of these rules can close the gap between policy intent and on-ground water quality.