Govt tells SC it plans total waste management in 118 towns, stop open defecation in 1,649 Gram Panchayats along the river
In five years, the Narendra Modi Government’s ambitious Clean Ganga plan seeks to achieve total waste management in 118 urban towns, stop open defecation in 1,649 Gram Panchayats along the river, and ensure zero liquid waste discharge by polluting industries.
In a revised affidavit on the Ganga Rejuvenation Plan, which the Centre submitted before the Supreme Court on Monday, the Centre told the court that the Clean Ganga plan would consist of short-term goals for three years, medium-term goals for five years and long-term goals for ten years.
On the last date of hearing, the SC had asked the Government to come up with a time-bound action plan. The Bench even remarked that under the proposed plan the objective of restoring Ganga to its pristine glory could take 200 years.
Now, the Ministry of Urban Development has tentatively identified the 118 towns where the Centre intends to achieve “total sanitation”, including wastewater treatment and solid waste management on both the banks of the river. In this regard, consultations have begun with the five States sharing the river basin — Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The project is likely to cost Rs 51,000 crores over five years.
In addition, the Ministry of Water Resources has begun the process of identifying ghats to revive and develop them in order to facilitate visits from the public. “So far seven riverfront locations have been identified for development of ghats at Kedarnath, Haridwar, Varanasi, Kanpur, Allahabad, Patna and Delhi,” the affidavit said.
The five basin States have been asked to submit proposals for providing public amenities, solid and liquid waste management and facilities for pilgrims at these sites.
An extensive effort is also being made by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to draw out a scheme for making all 1,649 Gram Panchayats located on the banks of the Ganga free from open defecation. In addition, the problem of polluting industries discharging their waste directly into the river is being addressed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in coordination with the Environment Ministry and Central Pollution Control Board.
“The DIPP convened a meeting on September 3 and asked the Central leather Research Institute (ClRI), Chennai to furnish proposals for treating tannery effluents with and without Zero liquid Discharge.” This forms part of the medium-term goals proposed by the Centre.
As part of its long-term strategy, the Centre expects a comprehensive Ganga River Basin Management Plan (GRBMP) to be prepared by a consortium of seven IITs for restoring the “wholesomeness” of the Ganga in order to ensure uninterrupted flow and achieve ecological and geological integrity of the river. “The first version of this plan is tentatively expected to be available by the end of December 2014,” said the affidavit.