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Sustainability 2012, 4, 1647-1668; doi:10.3390/su4081647 OPEN ACCESS sustainability ISSN 2071-1050 /journal/sustainability Article The Ganges and the GAP: An Assessment of Efforts to Clean a Sacred River Priyam Das 1,* and Kenneth R. Tamminga 2 1 University of Hawaii at Manoa, Saunders 109, 2424 Maile Way, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA 2 Penn State University, 121 Stuckeman Family Building, University Park, PA 16802, USA; E-Mail: krt1@ * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: priyam@; Tel.: +1-808-956-5367; Fax: +1-808-956-6870. Received: 2 June 2012; in revised form: 16 July 2012 / Accepted: 18 July 2012 / Published: 27 July 2012 Abstract: For centuries, the Ganges River in India has been the locus of sacred rites for the Hindus. The religious significance of the Ganges is physically manifested in ghats (stepped landings) that form the land-water interface. Besides serving as a site for religious bathing and cremation, the ghats are also tied to people’s livelihoods and are an inseparable part of their daily lives. Today, the increasingly urbanized Ganges basin sustains more than 40 percent of India’s population. At the same time, industrialization and the pressures of a growing population along its banks have contributed to alarming levels of pollution in the river. In 1985, the federal government of India launched the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) with the primary objective of cleaning the river. However, characterized by