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Blog / 30 Dec 2019

(Daily News Scan - DNS English) Oceans Without Oxygen

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(Daily News Scan - DNS English) Oceans Without Oxygen


Why in News?

PM Narendra Modi during the first meeting of the National Ganga Council directed governments of five Gangetic states — UP, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and West Bengal — urged to shift their focus from Namami Gange to Arth Ganga.

Introduction:

The Government of India had set up the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), to clean River Ganga. The NMCG has stated its vision in terms of four restoration pillars, namely Aviral Dhara (continuous flow), Nirmal Dhara (clean water), Geologic Entity (protection of geological features) and Ecological Entity (protection of aquatic biodiversity).

Pollution of the River Ganga: A brief overview:

  • Water is a state subject. The management of Ganga is not very cohesive between various riparian states. There is also a lack of water treatment infrastructure in India.
  • Illegal discharge of sewage and other effluents containing toxic chromium are discharged directly into the Ganga.
  • The industrial pollutants largely originate from tanneries in Kanpur, paper mills, distilleries and sugar mills in the Yamuna, Ramganga, Hindon and Kali river catchments.
  • There is a huge load of municipal sewage which contributes two-thirds of the total pollution load of Ganga.

For about three decades, the different strategies to clean-up the Ganga were attempted but very little has been achieved.

Steps laid down by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to reinforce the 4 restoration pillars of Ganga:

The National Mission for Clean Ganga has laid down a 10 point action plan to reinforce the 4 restoration pillars. They are as follows:

  • Promotion of decentralized Sewage Treatment Plants (dSTP) at the colony level. Reuse treated wastewater to be used for irrigation and empty into natural drains.
  • The existing and planned Sewage Treatment Plants need to be verified on efficiency, reliability and technology parameters by independent agencies.
  • The local storages like ponds, rivers, wetlands are to be restored, for rainwater harvesting.
  • The natural drains are to be restored. These drains empty into rivers and transform and rejuvenate them into healthy water bodies. At present they have been converted to sewage carrying drains.
  • The lower water stream and smaller tributaries of Ganga should also be restored, as they are equally important. As the focus of the Ganga Action Plan (Phase I and II) and Namami Gange has been on the main stem of the river. The tributaries were overlooked.
  • Identify, define and protect ‘river-corridors’ as areas for no cement-concrete structures. Infrastructure development and destruction of river ecosystem through populist measures such as riverfront development needs to be stopped to protect and conserve surface water sources.
  • Map the entire looped length of every tributary of the Ganga and correct the land records. This will ensure that active flood plains and river-corridors are free from encroachments.
  • Restore base flows through groundwater recharge. The idea of Ganga rejuvenation is also linked to groundwater rejuvenation.
  • Define the desired ecological flow regime(s) in the Ganga main stem and its tributaries (not just a static figure) to allow the rejuvenation of the river.
  • Evolve new and innovative ways to generate sufficient revenues for operation and maintenance (O&M) of water and wastewater infrastructure through pricing and valuing water.

Conclusion:

Ganga cannot be restored only by pollution-abatement measures. The above-mentioned strategies need to be integrated into long-term ecological and sustainable goals, and it should not simply be a short-term populist move.