48 industrial units polluting Ganga asked to close down

[P.J.]

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48 industrial units polluting Ganga asked to close down



NEW DELHI: Directions have been issued to about 48 industrial units polluting Ganga to close down, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Monday.

The ministry of environment & forests has identified 764 grossly polluting industries discharging 501 million litres per day of waste water into Ganga and its major tributaries, minister of state for water resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Santosh Kumar Gangwar said in his written reply

"704 industries have been inspected under National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) programme by NGRBA Cell, CPCB till May, 2014. Directions have been issued to 165 industries, of which 48 are closure directions under Section-5 of E(P) Act, 1986," he said.

The state pollution control boards (SPCBs) are required to implement effluent discharge standards by the industries.

Gangwar said action has to be taken against defaulting industries by SPCBs under powers delegated to them by the central government under relevant provisions of Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

To another question on jurisdiction of NGRBA, he said, the ministry of environment and forests has informed that on the recommendations of NGRBA, three power projects — Loharinag Pala, Pala Maneri and Bhaironghati hydro power projects were halted in 2010.

"Further, stage 1B project was also halted in 2010, after National Environment Appellate Authority quashed environmental clearance for the project. In the last three years, no hydro power project has been halted by the government," Gangwar said.

Replying to a related question, the minister said,"A comprehensive River Basin Management Plan for Ganga is being prepared by a consortium of seven IITs (Kanpur, Delhi, Madras, Bombay, Kharagpur, Guwahati and Roorkee).

"The objective of the plan is to suggest comprehensive measures for restoration of wholesomeness of Ganga system and improvement of its ecological health, with due regard to the issue of competing water uses in the river basin."

"The plan would take into consideration requirements of water and energy in the Ganga Basin, while ensuring that fundamental aspects of the river system are protected. The IIT consortium is proposing to submit its report by the end of August," he said.

48 industrial units polluting Ganga asked to close down - The Times of India

 

[prasad1]

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared his objective to rejuvenate the Ganga, anxiety over the state of the river gave way to a sense of relief; there was finally hope for a river in its death throes. Also, the Minister of Water Resources was a known champion of the Ganga. However, satisfaction quickly changed to dismay because of a number of disturbing indicators.

Reference by some to the Sabarmati model. Sabarmati was not rejuvenated; a 10.4 kilometre stretch of the river was used as a receptacle for water from the Narmada, i.e., water from another river was used to create an artificial river front for Ahmedabad. From which river will water be brought to the Ganga, and for what length of the Ganga? Is the intention merely to create an artificial water front for Varanasi? I am sure this is not the idea. Reference to the Sabarmati model is therefore misleading.

There is talk of reviving the project announced in 2002 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee — the Inter-Linking of Rivers Project. Among the links forming part of that project is one from the Ganga to the Subarnarekha and the Mahanadi and then further southwards. How is a diversion of waters from the Ganga reconcilable with the idea of rejuvenation of the river?

The ‘Save the Ganga’ movement has formulated the slogan of ensuring a nirmal (pollution-free) and aviral (uninterrupted) flow of the river. This phraseology has also been adopted by the IIT Consortium and the National Ganga River Basin Authority. However, a Cabinet Minister in the Modi government has declared the intention of building a series of structures on the river at intervals of 100 km. What will this do to the Ganga? What implications will this have for a nirmal-aviral flow?

Minister has also talked about dredging and widening the Ganga for ensuring continuous navigability. First, human intervention harms the river and then a limited remedy is attempted through dredging. This would be for restoring part of the live storage (or pondage) lost because of the rise in the level of dead storage, and not for navigation, as the dam will obstruct navigation anyway, unless an elaborate system of locks is built. In a free-flowing stretch, where sediment build-up has not occurred, what would be the justification for dredging for navigation?
The forces of free market capitalism and the insatiable ‘developmental’ demand for energy will trump all environmental concerns as well as anxieties about the Ganga. Perhaps the death of our rivers is a price that needs to be paid for what goes by the name of ‘development.’ One can only request the government to be aware of what it is doing.


(Ramaswamy R. Iyer is a former Secretary, Water Resources, Government of India.)
http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-...ingthe-ganga/article6214337.ece?homepage=true