Even 'originating point' of Ganga polluted by STP discharge: Govt to NGT

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The National Green Tribunal has been informed that according to an Uttarakhand government's report on pollution in Ganga, even the "originating point" of the pious river is polluted by sewage treatment plant (STP) discharge.

The submission was made during the proceedings about the prevention and control of pollution in Ganga in Uttarakhand. The tribunal had earlier sought a report from the state and others.

A bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava noted the submissions of the advocate of one of the intervening applicants, who referring to the state's report, pointed out that a faecal coliform having the most probable number (MPN) of 540/100 ml was found in the sample collected from the 1 million litres per day (MLD) capacity sewage treatment plant (STP) at Gangotri.

Faecal coliform (FC) levels show pollution from the microbes from the excreta of humans and animals. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) water quality criteria, an MPN of less than 500/100 ml is desirable for "organised outdoor bathing".

In the order passed on November 5, the NGT bench also comprising judicial member Justice Sudhir Agarwal and expert member A Senthil Vel noted, "She (the advocate) has submitted that even the originating point of the pious river Ganga is polluted by the STP discharge."  The tribunal also noted CPCB's report about the compliance of norms and functionality of the STPs and said that out of 53 commissioned STPs, only 50 were functional and 48 were not complying with the norms, including FC levels, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) removal efficiency range and utilisation capacity.

Comparing the state's report with the CPCB report, it said, "We find that disclosures which have been made by the state of Uttarakhand in his latest report are doubtful."  "Thus, we require the Chief Secretary to duly look into the matter and ensure that a proper status report with due compliance is filed," it added.

The tribunal also noted deficiencies in the state's report about the STPs.

It said, "Many of the STPs are either underutilised (Dehradun, Uttarkashi, Pauri, Chamoli) or receiving the excess quantity of sewage against their designed capacity (Haridwar, Tehri) and there is no mention of inundation of STPs during flooding/backflow."  Regarding the status of drains in the states, the tribunal noted that 63 untapped drains were directly discharging untreated sewage into the Ganga and its tributaries.

"We also find that in towns of Kashipur, Bazpur and Kitchha of district Udham Singh Nagar, all the drains are untapped," it said.

"The next report of the state needs to clarify action to be taken in a time-bound manner to ensure that no sewage carrying (BOD) load and FC joins Ganga or its tributaries," the tribunal added.

The matter has been posted for further proceedings on February 13.