Extent of degradation:  Severe environmental degradation of Narmada river ecosystem has happened which can be classified in to following areas:
1.       Hydrology :Massive sea water intrusion from the Bay of Khambhat, for upto 40 kilometres eastwards into the Narmada has allegedly “destroyed” 10,000 hectares of agricultural landand affected the livelihoods of fisherfolk.. (Shah, 2016). Severe salinisastion on both the banks upto 400 hectares is see in Rajkot. Waste and effluents discharges have pushed the quality of water down to "B" category, according to Bureau of Indian Standard 2296 norms.A report of the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) indicates that in Dindori, the quality of water was under 'C' category of the BIS's 2296 norms (1981) (Saxena, 2013).  Municipal waste of 19 cities is directly discharged into the river. The major source of pollutants are local anthropogenic activities, agricultural runoff and by industrial effluent. (Sharma Shraddha1, 2011), The 19 cities located on the banks of the river discharge the municipal waste without treating it properly.A number of industries dot the bank of the river which discharges their effluent in the river.
2.       Morphology: Siltation occurs in the area below the irrigation canal take-off level (dead storage) as well as above that (live storage). (Ashish Kothari, 1994) Sever soil erosion in edges have led to bank cutting on the erosive edges of the river such as seen in Maheshwar ghats.A significant area is aaffected by Gully erosion. The most commonly described gullies are the ‘hillslope gullies’, which are present in the upland portions of catchments. Gully erosion and the associated soil loss have caused major environmental disasters. Many urban and rural communities have been severely affected, while the sustainability of the total landscape has been threatened. (Padmini Story, 2011) Badlands: Badland forms represent an ever increasing erosive network of channels rendering rendering land unfit for agriculture and other uses.
3.       Industrialization: The numerous cotton based industries discharge their waste into the river. The cotton industries heavily pollute the air.
4.       Flora and fauna: Degradation of water quality and riparian vegetation.Illegal fishing all year round Loss of fish fauna
Cutting of forests has led to decline in diversity and density of forests. Conversion of grasslands into farmlands have reduced grazing ground of deers and other foragers.
Conclusion:
The central Indian forests located on metamorphic rocks such as dike and Granite, the forest once felled will never regenerate, the barren earth will no longer retain moisture, the river will run dry and the large part of the land will become a wasteland. The protected areas should be increased to protect any further environmental degradation of the river. The degradation which gradual in the last centuries have sevely pacened in the past few deacdes. The valley has seen severe mrphologocal degradation and habitat loss. The results clearly show that LU/LC changes were significant during the period from 2004 to 2014. The increase in wasteland, scrubland and gullied land is alarming and indicates towards degrading landscape of the River. The gullied land is unfit for any purpose and requires conservation as it does not support any livelihood and hence the increase of gullied area is an alarming threat ecosystem of Narmada region and also to the indegenious livelihoods it supports. Scrublands i.e. land which is prone to deterioration due to erosion, with scrubs dominating the landscape are in increase thereby leading to lesser areas with diverse species. The increase in gullied areas indicate towards loss of vegetation cover in steep slopes and valley region. The area of water bodies have increased due to construction of numerous dams in the catchment. Due to availability of new technology for pumping there is a decrease in area of Kharif and Rabi only  crops and increase in Double triple cropping Area.
An inclusive management plan which addresses the multiple sector (Silviculture, irrigation, tourism, infrastructure development, urban expansion, waste management etc) is essential to further curtail the degradation of the environment. Looking into the cultural and ecological significance of the rivers, conservation measures like forestation, slope stabilisation need to be taken.

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