Appendix I
National River Action Plan
Rivers are one of the pillars for the survival and development of mankind. All major civilizations of the world such as the Indus valley civilization, Mesopotamian civilization and Chinese civilization have grown on the banks of perennial flowing rivers.
Rivers are thus considered as both the source and the sink for human civilization. While water from the rivers is drawn for drinking, household use, irrigation and industrial use, waste water, industrial effluents and sewage are also discharged into the same river. In India and other countries, the rivers are named after gods and goddesses. People also worship the rivers as their mother. Inspite of this, the same people do not think twice before polluting the rivers.
In India, particularly this is the fate of every river. As water from the rivers is drawn for irrigation, industry and other developmental works (dams, hydroelectric projects), the water in the rivers has reduced to a great extent. Therefore, it can no longer dilute the loads of sewage, industrial effluents and other pollutants that are being continuously discharged into it. A study conducted by the Central Pollution Control Board reveals that sewage and municipal effluents constitute about 75 per cent of the pollutants while the remaining 25 per cent is from industrial effluents.
The rivers were always a boon for human beings and other biotic societies in this world. Now the rivers have turned into a bane for them. Thus, the need of the hour is to create public awareness and implore participation to check further pollution of the rivers and also to carry out cleaning steps to restore the rivers to their previous condition. The Government of India came up with some actions plans to prevent pollution of rivers and to improve the water quality of different rivers.
Ganga Action Plan (GAP)
In June 1985, the Government of India launched the Ganga Action Plan to improve the water quality of the river Ganga by using a multi-pronged strategy. This project was sponsored by the Central Government. The plan envisaged interception and diversion of waste water reaching the Ganga with the installation of sewage treatment plants for treatment, management of solid waste, installation of crematoriums, installation of low cost sanitation and development of the riverfront. Thus, it is clear that the total project is based on public awareness and participation.
An apex body called the Central Ganga Authority was set up with the Prime Minister of India as the Chairman to oversee the implementation of the programme and to coordinate the efforts of various agencies involved.
A steering committee under the Chairmanship of the Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests was formed to consider the approval of schemes, annual allocation of funds and review the progress of the schemes. A monitoring committee was also constituted to monitor the progress of the scheme. A Ganga Project Directorate was set up as a part of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to service the steering committee, the monitoring committee and the Central Ganga Authority and also help to coordinate the implementation of the Ganga Action Plan.
The Ganga Action Plan has been taken up in two phases with an allocation of Rs 462.04 crore. Out of this, an amount of Rs. 451.70 crore has been released to and utilized by the participating states namely Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. The Ganga Action Plan Phase I was declared closed since March 31, 2000. Also, an amount of about Rs. 488 crore has been utilized so far out of the allocated funds of Rs 1276.26 crore in the second phase of the Ganga Action Plan which was approved in stages between 1993 and 1996.
Under the GAP, a total of 242 out of 261 sanctioned schemes have been completed till date.
The pollution in Ganga with respect to pollution parameters, namely, Dissolved Oxygen (DO) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) during the critical periods of summer in 1986 and 1999 was measured as follows:
The desired standards fixed by the Central Pollution Control Board of the Ganga for these two parameters are 3 mg/l (maximum) for BOD and 5 mg/l (minimum) for DO.
The Ganga river can be expected to be pollution free only after Phase II of GAP is completed and a minimum flow in the river is maintained to allow the necessary dilution of treated waste water discharged into the river.
The evaluation of Phase I of GAP was done by experts from IIT Roorkee, Aligarh Muslim University, IIT Kanpur and All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health, Kolkata. According to the report submitted by them, the primary step in restoring the water quality of the river has been achieved as there is a fair reduction of organic matter discharge into the river. They also feel that GAP as conceived and implemented is an appropriate programme for replication in other river basins also. The team also recommended appropriate intervention to reduce the microbial pollution of the river, rigorous qualitative and quantitative characterization of the sewage by adopting the most appropriate technology for treatment and resource recovery from the treated waste waters.
Ganga Action Plan (Phase-II) (Main Stream)
After the successful implementation of GAP Phase-I, the Government of India approved GAP Phase-II in 1991 for the abatement of pollution in the tributaries of Ganga.
In the GAP Phase-II plan with an outlay of Rs 378.00 crore, pollution abatement works are being done in 29 towns of which 10 are in Uttar Pradesh and eight in West Bengal. About 618 mld of sewage is targeted to be intercepted, diverted and treated. The plan includes substantial outlays for scheme implementation at Allahabad, Kanpur and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. Schemes in Bihar are only being sanctioned after due scrutiny. The Yamuna Action Plan, Gomti Action Plan and Damodar Action Plan were also put into action.
Ganga Action Plan (Supreme Court Cases)
Under this, pollution abatement works are being taken up in 30 towns. Of these 12 are in Uttar Pradesh, three in Bihar and 15 in West Bengal. About 162 mld of sewage is to be intercepted, diverted and treated. Out of the project outlay of Rs 209.90 crore, the funds released by the Government of India amount to Rs. 5.18 crore.
Yamuna Action Plan
Under this plan, pollution abatement works were being done in six towns of Haryana and six towns of UP and Delhi respectively. Six other towns of Haryana were also included in the Yamuna Action Plan following the Supreme Court of India’s order. About 744 mld of sewage was proposed to be intercepted, diverted and treated under the plan. The approved cost for the project was Rs 509.45 crore with an external assistance of 17.77 billion yen. The deadline for the completion of the project was fixed as March 2000.
However, under the National River Conservation Plan, an extended phase for the Yamuna Action Plan was approved with a cost of Rs 222.60 crore and an external assistance of 8 billion yen by the Japan Bank of International Corporation. Of this total sanctioned amount, nearly 75 per cent was spent on the construction of a Community Toilet Complex (CTC) in Delhi, 1,146 CTCs were constructed in resettlement colonies where proper sanitation facilities were lacking. The remaining amount was spent for the states of Haryana, UP and Bihar. The project was completed in March 2002. The project resulted in significant health benefits, particularly to the people of Delhi.
Gomti River Action Plan
Under the Gomti River Action Plan, pollution abatement works are being done along the Gomti River in Lucknow, Sultanpur and Jaunpur in UP with an approval of Rs 58.11 crore. The United Kingdom Government also agreed to fund the pollution abatement work in Lucknow town but only in two phases. The first phase comprising certain emergency works and master plan preparation was completed in March 1999. However, the UK Government delayed the decision for funding the main action programme and finally in August 1997 refused to fund it at all. Thus, a major component of the work under the Gomti Action Plan could not be started even after years of approval from the CCEA. Subsequently, the UP Government submitted a revised cost estimate for Rs 237.40 crore for the same. The project target is 269 mld of sewage for interception, diversion and treatment.
Damodar Action Plan
The pollution abatement works for the Damodar river targets 12 towns of which eight are in Jharkhand and four in West Bengal. A number of schemes were taken up for priority sanction. About 68 mld of sewage is targeted to be intercepted, diverted and treated. The main towns to benefit from this action plan are Bokaro, Kangali, Chinchuda, Dugdha, Jharia, Ramgarh, Sindri, Sudamdih and Telunochu in Bihar/Jharkhand and Raniganj, Andal, Asansol and Durgapur in West Bengal.
National River Conservation Plan
The National River Conservation Plan was launched in 1995 at an estimated cost of Rs 37.13 crore to cover 18 major rivers in 10 states of India. About 1,928 mld of sewage is targeted to be intercepted, diverted and treated in 46 towns of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. The rivers involved are Brahmani, Mahanadi, Wain Ganga, Betwa, Tapti, Kshipra (Shipra), Khan, Kaveri, Tungabhadra, Sutlej, Chambal, Godavari, Krishna, Suvarnarekha, Sabarmati and Narmada.
National Lake Conservation Plan
A proposal for the conservation and management of three lakes namely Powai (in Mumbai), Kodaikanal and Ooty was approved by the Union Government of India in 2001 under the National Lake Conservation Plan. The estimate approved was Rs 14.90 crore out of which Rs. 6.62 crore was for Powai, Rs 6.63 crore for Kodaikanal and Rs 1.95 crore for Ooty. The plan envisaged the use of low cost sustainable bioremediation processes for the conservation of these lakes. On completion, the project will not only improve the (i) biodiversity and ecology of the lakes but will also help in (ii) pisciculture, (iii) improvement of overall hygiene and sanitation, (iv) boosting recreation and tourism and (v) producing biological manure from composting of water hyacinth.