The Government must work with sufficient and real time data on pollution levels of the Ganga. It may help cleaning up one of the most enduring symbols of India’s culture and heritage, and restore the reverence it deserves
India has always been making intensive efforts to clean up the Ganga and equally concentrating on efforts to pollute it. The result is a river that is now a mere shadow of its original pure form, which very few can recall. The rapid degeneration of the river has unfortunately become an international case study for Governments, universities and environmental organisations of how ‘not’ to manage a river. India’s attempts to resuscitate the river have seen multiple efforts in the form of the Ganga Action Plan in 1986 and the National Ganga River Basin Authority in 2009 but these largely proved to be futile.
Given the continuing slide in the river’s conditions, the NDA Government’s integrated Ganga conservation mission — Namami Gange — launched in July this year at Haridwar, can be termed as a fresh breath of life for the beleaguered river that seeks to address the shortcomings of the previous projects. The mission proposes to spend Rs20, 000 crore till 2019-2020 for cleansing the river and reducing the pollution load. But even though the Government is sparing no efforts, it is simply unable to stem the speed of pollution, as the Ganga keeps getting dirtier with millions of litres of sewage and other pollutants getting disgorged into the river everyday.
As population keeps increasing, the pressure on the availability of quality natural resources keeps decreasing. It is imperative to keep natural resources, especially rivers, pure as this sustains life and maintain ecological balance. In its course of 2,525 kilometres, more than 115 smaller rivers join the Ganga as it traverses through 29 cities having a population of more than 1,00,000 each. This poses a stiff challenge due to the increased inflow of industrial waste and untreated sewage that in turn reduce the natural flow of the river and become major factors of pollution.
According to estimates, the Ganga is subjected to nearly 823.1 million litres per day (MlD) of untreated sewage and 212.42 MlD of industrial effluent flow. Thanks to this, the river now has pollutants that are 3,000 times more than the permissible limits as defined by the World Health Organisation. The situation has worsened due to the run-off of harmful pesticides and fertilisers from agriculture into the river, thereby rendering it unfit for drinking and bathing.
The alarming condition of the pollution levels in the Ganga has been highlighted by the periodical studies carried out by the Uttarakhand Environment Conservation and Pollution Control Board, which show that the river water near Haridwar has coliform bacteria at 5,500 level which is 100 times more than the permissible limit. Coliform bacteria originate from humans but become highly health-hazardous when found in water or food. The direct inflow of urban sewage into the river is a main cause for the presence of coliform bacteria.
A recently conducted study by the apex pollution control body — the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) not only re-confirmed bacterial contamination in the Ganga, but more disturbingly, highlighted the presence of heavy metals in the water samples. The elevated heavy metal presence can be attributed to the 1072 industries that exist along the Ganges from Haridwar to Kanpur. The CPCB report has been submitted to the National Green Tribunal for further action.
The Government cannot allow its initiative of Clean Ganga Mission to fail like the previous projects. In order to ensure this, the Government must first arrest the pollution at exit points on the riverfront. This is possible only if effective and functional sewage treatment plants are installed at these points. The Government must also prescribe a ‘zero tolerance’ policy for polluting industry intensive zones such as Kanpur, where tanneries are the main polluters.
The Government must also review the existing ghats and rebuild the infrastructure that conforms to eco-friendly norms and prevent pollution. This can be achieved by encouraging the participation and cooperation of the local people, which in turn will help, spread awareness on maintaining a healthy river and fostering the spirit of ownership of clean natural resources.
The Ganges plays host to nearly 40 per cent of India’s population and decades of unabated pollution has taken a toll on one of the most enduring symbols of India’s culture and heritage.
In its efforts, the NDA Government may not be able to effect a miracle overnight to cleanse the river, but armed with sufficient and real time data on pollution levels and river reclamation methods from across the world, the Modi administration may just be able to turn around the Ganga and restore the reverence it so deserves.