Loopholes in the Ganga Action Plan (Part- I)

Implementation

Problems of land acquisition, court cases, contractual issues and inadequate capacities in the local bodies/implementing agencies came in the way of speedy implementation. In some cases, essential components of schemes were not foreseen and estimates had to be revised. This caused cost overruns and delays. Some states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar could not provide funds timely for O&M (Operation & Maintenance) so O&M of conveying sewers and immediate pumping stations has been grossly neglected in Uttar Pradesh therefore in spite of facilities being available, raw sewage still flowing into the river.

Operation and Maintenance (O&M)

The state did not provide proper financial resources, uninterrupted power supply and skilled human resources. The problem in operation and maintenance can be defective land acquisition proceedings. It is a matter of experience that the Indian engineer design the projects on paper but they should design the scheme on the site and should do away with elements of likely disconnect or resistance so for as it is possible.

Technological Issues

Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB), technology, were adopted which is less energy-intensive but its effluent needs to be polished to meet the prescribed standards before it can be discharged into the river. Treatment facilities at many places were found inadequate due to the phenomenal growth of population and new residential colonies coming up without adequate wastewater treatment infrastructure, resulted in wastewater in excess of treatment capacity of the Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) discharged into the river without treatment.

Religious Faith

Improved crematoria could not become popular due to peoples religious belief. NRCD (National River Conservation Directorate) and State Government could not popularize its use so the utilization of 29 wood crematoria constructed during 1997 in the towns of Etawah, Muzaffarnagar, Noida, Jaunpur and Sultanpur at a cost of rupees 25 lakh is quite less.

Non-participation of local stakeholders

Narrow participation of local stakeholders in the formation stage for GAP was another major drawback of Gang Action Plan. Without the involvement of local stakeholders there was a lack chance of success of Gang Action Plan. Lack of coordination between the central, state and the local governments which led to implementation delay.

Limited Scope of Issues Addressed

GAP was concentrated on tackling of sewage only but even if the entire sewage load as envisaged in Ganga Action Plan is treated, water quality could not reach up to the permissible level of bathing. The liquid industrial waste is one of the main pollution sources of the river. Besides these other sources of pollution like nursing homes and other commercial establishments etc. also were not taken into consideration seriously.

 Influence of Aid on Choice of Technology

The choice of technology for sewage treatment under the Ganga Action Plan, especially the Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) technology introduced with the Dutch development aid which was an important financial source for the GAP-I. The critics argue that while adopting the technology, the MoEF (Ministry Of Environment & Forest) did not carry out any comparative assessment of the sewage treatment technologies on the criteria of suitability or efficiency. Further, they argue that the choice of UASB was highly influenced by Dutch aid and resulted in a mere waste of resources.

 Inappropriate Technological Choices for Treatment

The technology adopted under the GAP ( Activated Sludge Processes) was also not suitable in local circumstances as a result it could not give the expected result. For example, in Kanpur, a sewage treatment plant was supposed to have a capacity to treat 130 MLD of sewage could only treat 70 million litres per day due to lack of sludge handling facilities. Some states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar could not provide proper electricity to these plants.

Inadequacy of Standards of Water Quality

Standards prescribed by the CPCB(Central Pollution Control Board) and M.G.K. Menon Committee are just opposite because the former is based on the scientific investigation and the latter is fixed arbitrarily. Besides this, there was no clarity regarding the envisioned outcomes which created confusion with respect to the solution of the problem. In the year 1995, when GAP was launched there was a target to acceptable standards while after two years the acceptable standard was changed to Class B water quality i.e, suitable for bathing.

Inappropriate Policy of Discharging Water into the River

Discharging partially treated sewage or effluents in the river is unacceptable practice unless there is adequate water flow in the river. Entire sewage and effluent should be treated before discharging into the river. The middle stretch of the river becomes dry in the lean season due to diversion of water for industrial and agricultural purposes. It creates a problem in treating polluted water.