Lok Sabha Question No. 1348 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-03
Subject: Report of IITs on Ganga Cleaning
Ministry: WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANAGA REJUVENATION
Asked by: JAYAKUMAR JAYAVARDHAN, SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD, NINONG ERING, BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO, SUDHEER GUPTA, ASHOK SHANKARRAO CHAVAN, KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH, GAJANAN CHANDRAKANT KIRTIKAR, J.C. DIVAKAR REDDY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1348

ANSWERED ON 03.03.2016

## REPORT OF IITS ON GANGA CLEANING

1348.   DR. J. JAYAVARDHAN

DR. SUNIL BALIRAM GAIKWAD

SHRI NINONG ERING

SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO

SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA

SHRI ASHOK SHANKARRAO CHAVAN

KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR

SHRI J.C. DIVAKAR REDDY

Will the Minister of WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has requested Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to adopt various stretches of river Ganga and draw action plans for cleaning up the holy river;

- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether a consortium of IITs has submitted its reports to the Government;

(d) if so, the details thereof and the action taken/being taken by the Government thereon; and

(e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to treat pollutants before releasing them into the Ganga water?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION (SUSHRI UMA BHARTI)

(a)  &  (b)  Yes,  Madam.  A  Memorandum  of  Agreement  was  signed  between  Indian  Institutes  of Technology  (Bombay,  Delhi,  Guwahati,  Kanpur,  Kharagpur,  Madras  and  Roorkee)  and  Ministry  of Environment and Forests, Government of India for preparation of the Ganga River Basin Management Plan on July 6, 2010 New Delhi. The IITs were entrusted with the preparation of the GRBMP to utilize the vast knowledge base and experience of IITs in the fields of environment, water resources, ecology & bio-diversity, system integration, etc. in the Government's effort to clean river Ganga.

The IIT consortium was to prepare an integrated river basin management plan to maintain and restore the wholesomeness of the Ganga system and improve its ecological health with due regard to resolution of conflict of interest in water-uses in the entire river basin.  Plan was expected to have adequate provision for soil, water and energy conservation to accommodate growing population, urbanization, industrialization  and  agriculture  while  ensuring  that  the  following  fundamental  aspects  of  the  river systems are protected:

- i. Continuous flow (Aviral Dhara),
- ii. Un-Polluted flow (Nirmal Dhara),
- iii. Longitudinal and lateral connectivity of the river,
- iv. Adequate space for various river functions, and
- v. Function as an ecological entity.

(c)  &  (d)  The  Consortium  of  7  IITs  has  prepared  and  submitted  a  detailed  report  titled  'Ganga  River Basin Management Plan-2015' (GRBMP-2015) to Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation (MOWR,RD&GR). The report has been circulated to various Ministries involved in the cleaning of river Ganga.

The  report  of  the  Consortium  is  being  utilized  by  the  NMCG  for  formulation  of  the  Action  Plan  for rejuvenation of river Ganga.

(e) The various steps being taken by the Government for pollution abatement are:

Entry-level activities like River Surface Cleaning, Rural Sanitation, Crematoria modernization/renovation/new construction, Ghat repair, modernization and new construction are being taken up. Medium Term activities such as Municipal Sewage Management and Industrial Effluents Management  are  being  implemented/planned.  Other  Activities  like Biodiversity Conservation, Afforestation and Water Quality Monitoring are also being addressed.  The Long Term objective of the Government is to ensure adequate flow of water in the river Ganga.

Further, CPCB has issued directions for implementing the water conservation and Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) in 5 key industrial sectors in the Ganga Basin, namely, distillery, pulp & paper, sugar, textile and tannery. This has resulted in reduction of effluent discharge by 125 MLD corresponding to 77 tons per day of organic load. Based on compliance and verification of effluent discharge standards from industries, CPCB has issued directions under Sec 5 of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to the defaulters. Out of the  727  industries  inspected,  directions  were  issued  to  210  industries  including  65  for  closure.  As  a mechanism for verification of compliance of discharge standards from the industry, CPCB has also issued directions  to  the  Grossly  Polluting  Industries  (GPI)  to  install  Online  Continuous  Effluent  Monitoring Systems  (OCEMS). Out of  the  764  units,  511  units  have  reported  having  installed  the  system.  CPCB issued directions under section 18(1)(b) of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 to SPCBs  for  mandatory  Sewage  Treatment  Plants  of  adequate  capacity  for  treatment  and  disposal  of sewage. The future infrastructure  projects  including  housing  projects  are  mandated  to  develop  sewage treatment  infrastructure  as  a  part  of  the  project.  The  status  of  water  quality  in  each  State  was  also communicated to Chief Secretaries for review and to direct the urban local bodies to treat 100% of the sewage,  formulate  an  action  plan  for  improvement  and  installation  of  online  water  quality  monitoring systems at the outfall of industrial establishments / STP/ Rivers for strict vigilance to prevent disposal of untreated effluents in the water bodies or aquifers.

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