The urgency shown by the Narendra Modi government to clean up the Ganga river deserves accolades. But the apparent earnestness should not be restricted to mouthing rhetorics. It should be backed by concrete, solid actions. Cleaning such a long filthy stretch in 18 years, as the government promises, is no joke. It calls for sustained efforts on a war-footing. The vision of a rejuvenated Ganga is commendable, but it should not suffer from myopia, like the plans in the past.
A dubious distinction
The Ganga has the dubious distinction of being among the top five dirtiest rivers in the world. Untreated raw sewage and industrial effluents, as well as chemical fertilizers – most of which are carcinogenic – flow into the waterway unchecked. Human corpses and animal carcasses are dumped into it with impunity. Bathing, washing of clothes with detergents, idol immersion and open defecation add to the fouling of the river.
Most of the sewage treatment plants are lying dormant today. Some which are working don’t have the capacity to treat the human waste. What’s worse, power outages take a toll on them. As Rakesh K. Jaiswal, president of Kanpur-based Eco-Friends laments, “500 million litres of sewage a day is generated in the city and only 160 million of it is treated”. This sums up the deplorable state of waste in most of the cities that fall in the Ganga basin. Some 2.7 billion litres per day of sewage is generated by 50 cities located along the river. And not even half of it is treated. In 2013, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had surveyed 51 of the 64 existing sewage treatment plants along the Ganga. It was found that less than 60% of the installed capacity was being used and 30% of the plants were out of order. It is high time that the government seriously mulls over involving private players in taking care of the sewage treatment plants that are languishing.
In Kanpur, around 400 regulated and unregulated tanneries produce 50 million litres of waste daily, but only nine million of it is treated. The treated waste is far below the set standards. Besides, pulp and paper mills generate the most waste water in the river in other cities. The faecal coliform bacteria is obnoxiously high and BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand) has shot up, which has led to the slow death of the aquatic life in the Ganga. In Varanasi, the faecal coliform count is between 1-2 million per millitre of water. Under any circumstances, the count should not go beyond 50 per 100ml and 500 per 100ml for drinking and bathing purposes, respectively. If the current alarming situation is not addressed, water-borne diseases will proliferate and we will have an unhealthy India staring at its sick future.
Ganga Mission, anyone?
In the last 30 years, despite the ambitious ` 10,000 million Ganga Action Plan (GAP) – which proved to be a disaster – the pollution load in the river has increased by leaps and bounds. It is apprehended that Modi’s ` 20.4 billion Ganga Mission could face a similar fate if the untreated sewage and industrial waste continue to be discharged into the river. Major chunk of GAP money was spent on setting up sewage and effluent treatment plants. Modi government’s focus should be to make functional the ones lying non-operational. Polluting industries – big or small – have to be strictly monitored and shut down if they don’t shape up. The state pollution control boards must be given more teeth and powers to disconnect electricity and water as deterrence. They will have to impose heavy penalties too for non-compliance. Undoubtedly, these moves may eat into BJP’s votes. But if such units are given leeway, the Ganga Mission will run into the risk of being reduced to a mere political gimmick.
What has caused the Ganga’s reduced flow
To ensure that the pollution is tackled effectively and efficiently, all departments concerned have to work in tandem and coordinate properly. GAP was an utter failure because it lacked a joint approach. Inept management, corruption, and unscientific approach will do more damage to the Ganga than anything else. Prof. B. D. Tripathi, coordinator of the Centre for Environment Science & Technology at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU), avers the river’s flow and quantity of its water have markedly decreased in the last three decades. This has caused siltation and resultant decrease in the depth of the river, he believes. Jaiswal points out that the river is sucked dry as over 90% of water is diverted for agriculture before the Ganga reaches Kanpur. Unless the river has adequate water, it can’t be cleaned, he underlines.
Big dams upstream on the Alakananda, Bhagirathi and Mandakini rivers have all gone a long way in reducing Ganga’s natural flow. The Modi government has to stop this callous practice and rely more on smaller power plants and check dams. A National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) report said that Tehri dam, by blocking sediments, has diminished the self-purifying ability of the Ganga. Local people are bearing the brunt of Tehri dam today. It has made the region water deficient and driven villagers from their roots. There is no logic in giving electricity to Delhi at the cost of depriving people of their livelihood in an Uttarakhand hamlet. It is hollow development that reeks of bias. With climatic change unleashing its impact and glacial meltdown growing, there will be reduced melt water flow in the Ganga. This will pose more challenge to the planners. We have to retrace our steps before we reach a point of no return.
If treated water is used for irrigation and drinking, diverting the water from river will be reduced. This can also stop groundwater depletion to a large extent. India has the technology to do so, but what it lacks is a strong impetus. This push has to come from river experts. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) scientists, grassroots activists, gram panchayats and other local communities have to take a lead in the Ganga Rejuvenation movement. And India has to find indigenous solutions to its problems. This does not mean that we can’t learn from the lessons of Australia, Japan or Israel. But India has to implement its own models while taking technological assistance from other countries.
Holistic approach needed
Modi government’s plan envisages short, medium and long-term goals to clean up the river. That’s good as long as they are achieved with a deadline in mind. Goals without deadlines are meaningless. And the ultimate aim should be to bring about sustainable solutions to the problems that the Ganga reels under. A holistic approach to solve the problems is crucial.
Upgrading existing sewage treatment plants, improving sanitation in towns along the Ganga, conservation of river creatures and afforestation along the banks of the Ganga – upstream as well as downstream – need be taken up immediately. Besides, we can’t give a short shrift to tributaries of the Ganga. They are as important as the main channel.
While aiming to lessen the pollution load in the river, riverfront development is important too. Construction of ghats at some points, and making the Ganga navigable from Allahabad to Haldia is not a bad idea. However, while doing so, we have to bear in mind the fact that to make the path navigable, large-scale dredging will be required. And dredging will hugely affect the river ecosystem.
The Ganga clean-up throws up a complex and mammoth challenge. At the core of this challenge is the clash between economic development and ecological conservation. And only a bottoms-up approach in which all stakeholders participate can provide the real remedy. The Ganga Mission has to be a people’s movement. Or else a pristine Ganga will continue to remain a pie in the sky.
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Tirtho Banerjee
The writer is a freelance journalist who specialises in environmental issues.[/column]