Ganga Water not fit for even bathing in W Bengal, Bihar, UP

NHPC dam in Lower Subanshiri. East Mojo - SANDRP

A number of reports given below from this week shows that Ganga River water is not fit for even bathing at a number of locations in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and W Bengal. These are all official statements, mostly given in reports submitted to judicial bodies or statements by the judicial bodies.

This shows how little progress has been achieved by the government, including by the Prime Minister, central and concerned state governments including by schemes like Namami Gange and scheme of National Mission for Clean Ganga and expenditure of tens of thousands of crores of rupees. This is in spite of the promises given in the past by the Prime Minister and Union Ministers including Nitin Gadkari to clean the river by deadlines that have come and gone.

The worst part is that if we look at the trajectory of various work being done in this regard, we see no hope of any improvement in the foreseeable future unless there is major change in the way this problem is dealt with. But how will such a major change happen?

GANGA Bihar NGT warns of calling CS if complete report not submitted within 6 weeks  A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, while noting Bihar’s report dated February 17 this year, said 20 out of the state’s 38 districts had submitted their reports with incomplete and partially wrong information.

-In an order passed on February 19, the tribunal said, “We make it clear that if the complete requisite information is not furnished before the tribunal, we may be required to direct personal appearance of the Chief Secretary.” The matter has been posted on May 1 for considering the state’s report.

-The NGT was hearing a matter related to prevention and control of pollution in the Ganga in Bihar. The green tribunal had last year taken up the issue of pollution of the Ganga and its tributaries in five states. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/ganga-pollution-bihar-ngt-warns-calling-chief-secy-complete-report-not-submitted-6-weeks-9186155/ (28 Feb. 2024)

River water unsafe even for bathing: Govt report  Almost all major rivers passing through Bihar are unsafe even for bathing, revealed the annual survey report on health of rivers recently tabled by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) in the state legislature. The report, based on sample checks at 98 points of the rivers, including Ganga, Sone, Kosi, Bagmati, etc, in 27 districts showed excessive presence of faecal coliform bacteria in water. The World Health Organisation (WHO) norms stipulate that river water with more than 1000MPN/100ml faecal coliform bacteria should not be used even for irrigating crops, as uncooked agricultural produce could make people vulnerable to various kinds of diseases. According to the BSPCB report, based on sample survey conducted until last December, samples of Ganga water carried 92,000 MPN/100ml faecal coliform bacteria (FCB) across its stretch from Buxar to Bhagalpur, barring Lakhisarai, where FCB count was recorded at 28,000. Likewise, Sone river water contained 35,000 FCB at Rohtas and 3,500 FCB at Arwal, while Gandak water had presence of 92,000 FCB at Saran and Vaishali, 54,000 at Muzaffarpur and 13,000 at Gopalganj. https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/ganga-water-unsafe-even-for-bathing-says-bihar-govt-report-on-river-pollution-101708956775437.html (26 Feb. 2024)

Uttarakhand Officials face criminal charges for sewage negligence After reviewing status reports of STP across the state, the NGT found that 3 districts– US Nagar, Champawat, and Bageshwar have no operational STPs. In the remaining ten districts, less than half sewage generated was treated before being released into the river. According to the report US Nagar is the third largest (117 MLD) sewage-producing district in the state after Dehradun and Haridwar. “The estimated sewage generation in all 13 districts is around 700 MLD and not even 50% of this is treated appropriately. The influx of tourists and pilgrims leads to an increase in sewage generation,” NGT said.

-NGT criticised the lack of diligence in setting up STPs and rebuked UKPCB for its inaction. It said, “We are surprised to see that despite the discharge of untreated sewage into the rivers in Uttarakhand, no preventive, punitive and remedial action has been taken. The state pollution control board has remained a silent spectator, forgetting its statutory responsibility. This situation is alarming and needs to be deprecated.”

-The UKPCB has been instructed to recover environmental compensation for past violations and to impose penalties for future violations. It must submit a compliance report within two months as per the NGT’s directives. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/officials-face-criminal-charges-for-ganga-sewage-negligence/articleshow/108056710.cms   (29 Feb. 2024)

NGT fines govt for releasing untreated sewage into the Ganga and tributaries. https://www.livehindustan.com/uttarakhand/story-ngt-condemns-inaction-of-uttarakhand-pollution-control-board-on-ganga-pollution-9404866.html  (26 Feb. 2024)

West Bengal Entire river stretch unfit for bathing: NGT A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted that reports were filed by the DM of North 24 Parganas, Murshidabad, Nadia, Malda, Hooghly, Purba Burdhaman, Howrah, Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas. “On perusal of these reports, we, in general, find that no adequate facilities for treatment of sewage generated per day have been set up and that even the timeline for achieving the target of 100 per cent treatment of sewage has not been disclosed,” the bench, also comprising judicial member Sudhir Agarwal and expert members A Senthil Vel and Afroz Ahmad, said.

-In an order passed on February 21, the bench said, it was “surprising ” that not even a single STP was set up in some districts like Purba Medinipur. “The condition which has been reflected in these reports is far from satisfactory and shows that 258.67 MLD of untreated sewage is directly flowing in river Ganga in the state of West Bengal,” it said.

-The green panel directed the DMs of nine districts, through where the river’s mainstream flowed, to file affidavits setting a deadline for achieving the target of 100 per cent treatment of sewage generated every day. The DMs also have to disclose the manner and extent of utilisation of funds received from the NMCG, besides steps taken for demarcation of floodplains in their districts, the tribunal said.

-The tribunal directed the NMCG to carry out a performance audit of each of the districts on generation and treatment of waste and the extent of pollution each was causing in the river. “We do not find any progress in the reduction of discharge of pollutants to River Ganga in any of the districts. Therefore, if in the next report, sufficient progress is not shown then the tribunal may not have any option but to impose Environmental Compensation (EC),” the tribunal said It ordered the DMs concerned and the NMCG to file fresh reports within eight weeks and posted the matter for further proceedings on May 2. https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/entire-stretch-of-river-ganga-in-west-bengal-unfit-for-bathing-national-green-tribunal/cid/2003611  (28 Feb. 2024)

Varanasi NGT orders Govt to tackle flood plain zones NGT has directed the government to provide a report detailing the measures undertaken for the demarcation of floodplain zones along the Varuna and Assi rivers, both tributaries of the Ganga, in Varanasi district. The green panel was hearing a petition alleging that the local civic body failed to delineate the floodplain zones of these rivers, leading to continuous encroachments. The plea also accused unauthorized discharge of sewage into the rivers. A bench led by NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava took note of a report from the Varanasi Municipal Corporation indicating that 15 drains were releasing partially-treated sewage into the Varuna, adversely affecting its water quality. https://sundayguardianlive.com/legally-speaking/ngt-orders-up-govt-to-tackle-varanasi-flood-plain-zones   (03 March 2024)

वरुणा–असि नदी सफाई: दो साल में 21 मीटिंग सरकारी फाइलों और कागजात तैयार करने का नायाब उदाहरण देखना हो तो असि और वरुणा नदी से अतिक्रमण हटाने के लिए गठित निष्पादन समिति के मीटिंग मिनिट्स से बेहतर शायद ही कुछ हो। फरवरी 2022 से जनवरी 2024 के बीच 21 बैठकों के मिनट्स के कंटेंट एक जैसे ही हैं। चार फॉर्मेट में बने मीटिंग के मिनट्स में दिखाए गए ज्यादातर एक्शन प्लान भी कॉपी पेस्ट ही है। यही कारण है कि 23 नवंबर 2021 को एनजीटी के आदेश पर गठित निष्पादन समिति के 21 और निगरानी समिति की छह बैठकों के बाद भी निर्णय धरातल पर नहीं उतर पाए। https://www.amarujala.com/uttar-pradesh/varanasi/assi-and-varuna-rivers-encroachment-remove-not-result-same-point-in-meeting-2024-03-01  (01 March 2024)

Uttar Pradesh 29 STPs not complying with standards Of the 111 operational STPs, 29 were not complying with the effluent discharge standards fixed by the MoEF, shows a report available with the NMCG, the apex body that implements the government’s ambitious Namami Gange scheme. The monthly progress report for Uttar Pradesh for the period September-October 2022 shows that these 29 non-complying STPs accounted for 15 per cent (532.18 MLD) of the total sewage treatment capacity (3,663.4 MLD) in the state and were located along the main stem of river Ganga and its tributaries. This is significant in view of the gap in sewage treatment capacity in the state. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/clean-ganga-29-sewage-treatment-plants-in-up-8376982/  (13 Jan. 2023)

HYDRO POWER PROJECTS

Report Hydel push can’t ignore Teesta III failures In part 2 of this series, M Rajshekhar explores how India is pushing for dams with a broken system, one that creates winners and losers as seen in the aftermath of Teesta III. Eighteen years after the country liberalised power generation, it’s useful to study what hydro-criminality has produced. Its primary output, as this report will argue, is a skewed distribution of risks and rewards. Teesta III illustrates that point to perfection. There are lessons to be learnt from its collapse. https://carboncopy.info/indias-new-hydel-push-cant-turn-blind-eye-to-teesta-iii-failures/ (1 Mar 2024)

Arunachal Pradesh Subansiri dam will wash away elephants crossing downstream “The hydro peaking scenarios that were provided by NHPC to WII indicate a rise in water level by around 2 meters with a concomitant increase in the water velocity in and around the demarcated corridor area.

The potential threats of this indicated hydro-peaking scenario to elephants are twofold: (i) Despite being good swimmers, elephants, particularly the calves and young elephants are vulnerable to flash floods that could sweep elephants away, resulting in separation and even drowning. (ii) recurrent incidences of elephants being swept during river crossing could trigger behavioural avoidance of the vulnerable stretches resulting in functional loss of the corridor.” https://www.eastmojo.com/assam/2024/02/25/subansiri-dam-will-wash-away-elephants-crossing-downstream/  (25 Feb. 2024)

Sikkim Why was Teesta 3 dam sold to Greenko? BJP legislator and party president Dilli Ram Thapa demanded transparency from the state government, questioning why the project was sold without public consent and urging for a “white paper before code of conduct” to clarify the circumstances. https://www.eastmojo.com/sikkim/2024/03/03/why-was-teesta-stage-3-dam-sold-to-greenko-sikkim-cm-answers/ (3 March 2024)

Himachal Pradesh Shanan HEP lease ends  On March 1 2024 Union Power Ministry has issued an order to maintain status quo about ownership and operation of the Shanan hydropower project in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh. The 99 year lease from HP to Punjab was to end on March 2 2024.. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/shanan-power-project-to-stay-with-punjab-for-now-lease-ends-today-596272  (2 March 2024)

Punjab govt moves SC The Punjab government on Friday (March 01) moved the Supreme Court seeking an urgent hearing of its suit against the Himachal Pradesh government’s attempt to take control of Shanan Hydropower Project from the Punjab government on the expiry of a 99-year lease that expires this month. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud agreed to take up the matter on Monday (March 04) after advocate Shadan Farasat mentioned the Punjab government’s plea for urgent listing. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/punjab-moves-supreme-court-against-himachal-pradeshs-attempt-to-take-control-of-shanan-hydropower-project-596130  (1 March 2024)

Avalanche obstructs Chenab flow An avalanche hit a village Lahaul and Spiti district in the wee hours of Sunday (March 03), obstructing the flow of Chenab and triggering an alert in the adjoining area, officials said. The flow of Chenab river was obstructed following an avalanche at Dara Waterfall near Jasrat village in Lahaul and Spiti. The district, located at a high altitude, reported heavy snowfall in the past 24 hours. Residents of adjoining villages of Jobrang, Rapi, Jasrath, Tarand and Tharot have been advised to stay cautious and inform the nearest police post in case of emergency, said SP Lahaul and Spiti Mayank Chaudhary.

– Incidents of multiple avalanches occurred in Lahaul and Spiti at Seli Nallah in Rashel village, Faldi Nallah in Jobrang, Cho Veer Mod in Lohni and Tatha Nallah near Udaipur village. An avalanche was also reported near Karcham helipad in Sangla in Kinnaur district, the officials said.

– Meanwhile, heavy snow and rainfall in Himachal Pradesh in the past two days have triggered over half a dozen avalanches and landslides, leading to closure of over 500 roads, including five national highways, they said. https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/himachal/avalanche-in-himachal-pradeshs-lahaul-and-spiti-obstructs-chenab-flow-500-roads-closed-as-snow-rain-lash-state-596836  (03 March 2024)