Shri C. R. Patil, Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti, Government of India, has reviewed the projects implemented by Wildlife Institute of India and sponsored by Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India on 16th April, 2025 at Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India, New Delhi. The Hon’ble minister has chaired the meeting. Dr. Ruchi Badola, Dean, Wildlife Institute of India and Nodal Officer of reviewed projects has addressed the meeting followed by detailed presentation on the projects.

The Hon'ble minister launches a state-of-the-art information dashboard (www.rivres.in) on Ganga Aqualife Conservation Monitoring Centre/ National Centre for River Research, developed under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India and Wildlife Institute of India. The dashboard is dedicated to the sustainable efforts towards conserving the freshwater ecosystem. This also highlights the glimpses of the ongoing conservation activities carried out by the trained personnel, Ganga Praharis and local communities.

It serves as a platform for showcasing the freshwater biodiversity conservation in the Ganga River Basin to the public domain. The dashboard serves as a comprehensive resource hub, offering insights, and case studies on physiography, biodiversity and community participation activities for river conservation in Ganga River and its tributaries. It also highlights the status of select Indian rivers i.e., Barak, Mahanadi, Narmada, Godavari, Cauvery and Pamba River, along with Jalaj initiative to strengthen livelihood of local communities along the rivers. Publications of these conservation activities are highlighted along with details of the first master’s degree course in Freshwater Ecology being conducted at the Wildlife Institute of India.

Hon'ble minister has appreciated the work progress and expressed willingness to visit the National River Research Centre at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. He has proposed to organise Ganga sammelan, engaging Ganga Praharis and also expressed his concerns on pollution status of the Ganga River at Kanpur.

Hon'ble minister has released the published books, field guides and brochures as an outcome and knowledge products of these projects. These publications include Hydrophytes: Green lungs of Ganga Volume I and II; Protocols for collection, storage and transportation of biological samples of freshwater macrofauna; Best practices for nest rescue of select aquatic reptiles of Ganga Basin; Field guide: The rescue and rehabilitation of crocodilians of Ganga Basin; Field guide: Body condition score assessment of select freshwater reptiles for rescue and rehabilitation respectively. The online platform, books, field guides and brochures are significant step towards fostering the activities for freshwater biodiversity conservation initiatives by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.