UP's Nirmal Ganga operation

UP brims with a new hope for a ‘clean Ganga’ after getting a formal nod from Union environment ministry for launching its Nirmal Ganga operation. The projects being finalised in this connection are worth Rs 1,689 crore to be implemented in a phased manner over a period of next two to three years. A deal to this effect was clinched by the state government at a highlevel meeting held in New Delhi between Union environment minister Jairam Ramesh and a high-power delegation of UP led by Satish Chandra Mishra, chairman, state advisory council. Other members of the delegation included UP’s urban development minister, Nakul Dubey and principal secretary, urban development, Alok Ranjan. This comes as a major boost to UP where Ganga has virtually become a dumping ground for a variety of pollutants, including chemical wastes, sewage and even the remains of human and animal corpses, making the river unsafe for drinking as well as bathing. Roughly 800 million litres per day (MLD) of untreated sewage are directly discharged at present into the river from 26 cities situated at its banks in the state. By 2025, this is likely to be more than double. The capacity of existing sewage treatment plants (STP) are around 385 MLD and according to a proposed plan, this would be increased further to 1,039 MLD in the next 15 years. So, going by it, still around 600 MLD sewage will be left untreated by 2025. The reality, however, is grimmer, as the STPs are often out of work at present due to frequent power breakdowns. The projects being finalised are worth Rs 496 crore for Varanasi, Rs 403 crore for Kanpur and Rs 305 crore for Allahabad. Other projects awarded in this series are Rs 44 crore for Garhmukteswar, Rs 51 crore for Kannauj and Rs 28 crore for Moradabad. When asked to comment, Alok Ranjan said that these projects would help mitigate the pollution problem of Ganga to a great extent. As for the implementation of these projects, he said, the state had urged the Centre to make the funding in the ratio of 90:10 instead of the present 70:30 ratio. Describing the meeting a ‘success’, Ranjan said that the minister had also asked the state government to create a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for working out the modalities to meet the maintenance cost of the projects after their execution on the basis of the PPP model. The clearance of these projects brings new hope for Varanasi, Allahabad and Kanpur, which are the worst in term of pollution despite being famous pilgrimage sites for millions of devotees. A large quantity of sewage is discharged directly from these cities into the river, as they have STPs with inadequate capacities. For instances, Varanasi has STP with capacity of 89 MLD as against the discharge of 228 MLD and Allahabad has a sewage treating capacity of of 102 MLD as against its discharge of 292 MLD. Likewise, Kanpur, which is a hub of leather and a variety of chemical and jute-based industries, can treat only 162 MLD sewage as against total production of 409 MLD. The remaining goes directly into the river. Apart from these, there are 23 other big and small cities responsible for contaminating the Ganga. Projects for these cities, Ranjan said, would also be prepared and and submitted before the Centre soon.