Introduction

India is endowed with rich water resources. Approximately 45,000 km long riverine systems
crisscross the length and breadth of the country. These rivers include Himalayan snow fed rivers,
peninsular rain fed rivers and coastal short rapids.
The total geographical area of 3.29 million square km of the country has been divided in to 12
major river basins, 46 medium river basins and 14 minor and desert river basins. The major river
basins account for 78% of total surface area and serve 80% of the population. The Ganga river
basin is the largest of these, extending over the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and West
Bengal.
Rapidly increasing population, rising standards of living and exponential growth of
industrialization and urbanization have exposed the water resources, in general, and rivers, in
particular, to various forms of degradation. The deterioration in the water quality of the river
impacts the people immediately. Many Indian rivers, including the Ganga in some stretches,
particularly during lean flows, have become unfit even for bathing. Realizing that the rivers of
the country were in a serious state of degradation, a beginning towards their restoration was
made with the launching of the Ganga Action Plan in 1985. It was envisaged as a comprehensive
programme of river conservation with the objective of improving the water quality. It was
visualised that in due course, the programme would be enlarged to cover other major rivers of
the country.
The Ganga basin accounts for a little more than one-fourth (26.3%) of the countrys total
geographical area and is the biggest river basin in India, covering the entire states of
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar, Delhi, and parts of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and West Bengal. The Ganga basin is bound in the north by the
Himalayas and in the south by the Vindhyas. The main river stream originates in the Garhwal
Himalaya (300 55 N, 7907 E) under the name of the Bhagirathi. The ice-cave of Gaumukh at
the snout of the Gangotri glacier, 4100 meters above sea level, is recognized as the traditional
source of River Ganga.

The river cuts its path through the Himalayas and flows a distance of about 205 Kilometers
from Gaumukh and transverses through two districts of Uttrakhand state i.e. Uttarkashi and Tehri
to reach Devprayg where another head stream, the Alaknanda, joins it to form Holy Ganga.
The River Alaknanda is a tributary of the River Ganga Uttarakhand that begins at the meeting of
the Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak glaciers in Uttarakhand and it travels approx. 190 km.

After flowing through the northern-most part of Uttarakhand, the river flows through Uttar
Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, and finally drains into the Bay of Bengal. The river
traverses a length of 1450 km in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh while touching the boundary
between UP and Bihar for a stretch of 110 km. It then flows through Bihar, more or less covering
a distance of 405 km .The length of the river measured along the Bhagirathi and Hugli rivers
during its course in West Bengal is about 520 km. The River Ganga has a large number of
tributaries, namely, Kali, Ramganga, Yamuna, Gomti, Ghaghara, Gandak, and Kosi. The River
Yamuna, although a tributary of Ganga, is a river basin in itself. Its major tributaries are
Chambal, Sind, Betwa, and Ken. The main plateau tributaries of the Ganga river are Tons, Son,
Damodar, and Kangsabati-Haldi.

History
The history of the Ganga River is old as the Indian civilization. It has seen the rise and fall of
many empires. It has been the prime witness of all the religions especially Hinduism, Buddhism,
Islam, Christianity and Jainism.

ORIGINS
The origin of river Ganges lies at the height of 13,800 feet in the mountain ranges of Himalayas,
in Tehri Garhwal, near Gangotri. It begins high in the Himalayas as a pair of head streams. It
begins in an ice cave in the mountains about 10,300 feet above sea level. Gangotri is known as
the place of origin of the revered Ganges River, known as Ganga in India it is also consider one
of the holy place in chota char dham . The holiest of the Indian rivers, is the longest river
2

in India and the greatest waterway in India. The river has been declared as India's National
River. Ganges is the source of sustainment of life in the great Indian plains and it is at Gangotri
that the journey of Ganga begins. River Ganges gets water from the melting snow of Nanda
Devi, Gurla, Mandhata, Dhaulagiri, Gesaisthan, Kanchenjunga and Mount Everest. Many small
and big rivers merge with the Ganges in the Himalayan region. The Ganges river flows through
Bangladesh, but the greater part of it flows through India. The river flows across the northern
corner of India. The Ganges flows across India and Bangladesh until it empties out into the Bay
of Bengal. The great river provides water to many places, and many places rely on it.

Ganga Origin-Story of Bhagiratha

A) This is the most popular story regarding the origin of river Ganga. It is said that King Sagar
magically acquired sixty thousand sons. Once, King Sagar organized Ashvamedha Yagna, a
ritual of worship for the benefit of the kingdom. Jealous Indra stole one horse from the place.
King Sagar sent all his sons all over the earth to look for the horse. They found the horse in the
nether-world standing next to Kapila Muni, a sage who was meditating. The youths, were
disrespectful disturbed the sage during his meditation hours. The sage in anger turned the youth
to
ashes.
The souls of these young men wandered as ghosts as their final rites had not been done. The
sixty thousand sons of Sagar came searching for the horse to the hermitage of Sage Kapila. They
started to create nuisance, sage Kapila cursed them and they burnt to ashes. Anshuman another
son of king Sagar came searching for his sixty thousand brothers, to Kapila's hermitage. When he
came to know about the whole story he requested him to tell about the means by which his
brothers could attain salvation. Kapila said that his brothers would attain salvation, if the water
of Ganga were sprinkled on them.
Following the instructions of Kapila, Anshuman started doing penance on the Himalaya. But he
was not successful in his attempt to bring Ganga to earth. His son Dileep too tried, but in vain.
At last, Bhagiratha, the son of Dileep was successful in getting a boon from Lord Brahma, as a
result of which 'Ganga' descended down to earth. The force of the current was so great that there
was a fear of her entering the nether world, unless she was stopped on the earth. Bhagiratha
pleased Lord Shiva and requested him to hold her in his locks (hairs). Lord Shiva accepted it and
saved the earth from devastation. He released Ganga on the earth, as a result of which Ganga was
subdivided
1) Dwadini 2) Pavani 3) Nalini flew towards the east 4) Vakshu, 5) Sita, 6) Sindhu flew towards
the west and the seventh stream followed the route, as instructed by Bhagiratha, and hence was
called 7) Bhagirathi. Ultimately all the sixty thousand sons of Sagar were liberated by the
sprinkle of the water of the Ganga. Since then Ganga is sanctifying the mankind with her divine
waters.

b) There are many versions of stories regarding the origin of Ganges. In another story the sage
Valmiki of Ramayana, Ganges was the daughter of 'Himalaya' and 'Maina'. The deities abducted
her and took her to heaven and from then onwards, 'Ganga' started living inside the 'Karmandala'
(a spout shaped vessel). According to Kritivas Ramayana the deities had taken 'Ganga' to Lord
Shiva to get her married with him. When 'Maina' did not find her in the house, she cursed to
attain the form of water.
c) Along the banks on Ganga there are many cities but among them two are famous and these are
Haridwar and Allahabad. The reason behind this is they host worlds largest festival known
as Kumbh Mela. Ganga has far more importance than just a sources of water for millions of
people around the world who worship her as a mother who provides salvation from this world
and cleans reaction of their past misdeeds. She is not a river she is our beloved mother who take
care of our basic needs.

GANGA BASIN
Background
The Himalayas are the source of three major Indian rivers namely the Indus, the Ganga and the
Brahmaputra. Ganga drains a basin of extraordinary variation in altitude, climate, land use, flora
and fauna, social and cultural life. Ganga has been a cradle of human civilization since time
immemorial. Millions depend on this great river for physical and spiritual sustenance.
4

People have immense faith in the powers of healing and regeneration of the Ganga. It is one of
the most sacred rivers in the world and is deeply revered by the people of this country. The River
plays a vital role in religious ceremonies and rituals. To bathe in Ganga is a lifelong ambition of
many who congregate in large numbers for several river centered festivals such as Kumbh Mela
and numerous Snan (bath) festivals.

Salient Features of River Ganga

Total length
Length in Uttarakhand
Length in Uttar Pradesh
Length in Bihar
Jharkhand
West Bengal
Sharing length between UP & Bihar
Catchment Area Ganga Basin
Annual discharge Average
Main Tributaries

2525 kms
450 kms
1000 kms
405 kms
40 kms
520 kms
110 kms
861404 sq. km
493400 million cubic meter
Yamuna, Ramganga, Gomti, Ghaghara,
Gandak, Damodar, Kosi & Kali-East

Demography (Riparian States along Ganga River)

State / UT

Persons

Uttarakhand
Uttar Pradesh

10,116,752
199,581,477

Density (persons
per km2)
190/km2
828/km2

Bihar

103,804,637

1,102/km2

Jharkhand
West Bengal

1,150,038
91,347,736

720/km2
1,029/km2

Total

437,816,840(43.78 Crore)

Urban Population

30,91,169 (30.55%)
4,44,70,455(22.28%
)
1,17,29,609
(11.30%)
79,29,292
2,91,34,060
(31.89%)
96,354,585 (9.63 Crore)
(22% )

State Wise Distribution of Drainage Area of the Ganga

River in India

Developments in Ganga basin

Total Surface water resource of Ganga River has been assessed as 33 X 107 cusec out of which 7
X 107 cusec of surface water has been put to use. In addition, the annual groundwater potential
for irrigation, domestic and industrial usage in the Ganga basin has been assessed at 11 X 107
cusec and out of which 7 X 107 cusec of groundwater is being used as per records of Central
Ground Water Board.
Due to large scale developments in the Ganga Basin, the river ecosystem is being affected
adversely. To understand the present scenario in the Ganga basin, the river Ganga can be
classified into three reaches.

Upper Ganga Reach

The river Ganga, in the upper reaches flows on a steep and narrow bed, mostly rocks and
boulders. This reach is considered to have immense potential for harnessing hydropower. A line
diagram showing hydro power projects on Ganga River from Gaumukh to Haridwar

There are two types of projects on river Ganga- Hydropower projects in the upper reaches
planned and implemented by various Central and State agencies viz. Uttrakhand Jal Vidyut
Nigam Limited (UJVVNL) and the irrigation (canal system) projects in the downstream middle
reaches constructed by the State Irrigation Departments of Uttrakhand/Uttar Pradesh.
The hydropower projects in Uttrakhand are mostly run of the river (ROR) type except the Tehri
Dam Project which is a storage project for hydropower development and augments the nonmonsoon river flows due to storage of flood water in monsoon period. Besides, there are six
existing (ROR type) hydro projects in operation and seven (ROR types) projects under
construction.

SL. NO.

NAME OF
CAPACITY
THEPROJEC IN MW
T
A. UNDER OPERATION (Existing)
1
Tehri Dam
1000
2
Visnuprayag
400
HEP
3
Koteshwar
400
HEP
4
Maneri Bhali- 90
I HEP
5
Maneri Bhali- 304
II HEP
6
Chilla HEP
144
7

NAME OF
CO.

DISTRICT

RIVER

THDC
JPVL

Tehri
Chamoli

Bhagirathi
Alaknanda

THDC

Tehri

Bhagirathi

UJVNL

Uttarkashi

Bhagirathi

UJVNL

Uttarkashi

Bhagirathi

UJVNL

Pauri

Ganga

Bhilangana

22.5

B. UNDER CONSTRUCTION
1
Tapovan
520
Vishnugad
HEP
2
Tehri-psp
1000
(stage-II)
3
Phata Byung
76
HEP
4
Singoli
99
Bhatwari HEP
5
Vishnugad
444
Pipalkoti HEP
6
Alaknanda
300
HEP
7
Srinagar HEP 330
C. DPR PREPARED / SUBMITTED
1
Kotli Bhel I 195
A HEP
2
Kotli Bhel I 320
B HEP
3
Kotli Bhel II 530
HEP
4
Bowla
300
Nandprayag
HEP
5
Nandprayag
100
Langasu HEP

1
2
3
4
5
6

Swasti
Power

Tehri

Bhilangana

NTPC

Chamoli

Dhauliganga

THDC

Tehri

Bhagirathi

LANCO

Mandakini

THDC

Rudrapraya
g
Rudrapraya
g
Chamoli

GMR

Chamoli

Alakananda

GVK

Pauri

Alakananda

NHPC

Tehri

Bhagirathi

NHPC

Pauri

Alakananda

NHPC

Pauri

Ganga

UJNVL

Chamoli

Alakananda

UJNVL

Chamoli

Alakananda

L&T

D. PROJECTS UNDER INVESTIGATION

Karmoli
140
THDC
Uttarkashi
HEP
Gohana Tal
60
THDC
Chamoli
HEP
Jadhganga
50
THDC
Uttarkashi
HEP
Malarijelam 114
THDC
Chamoli
HEP
Tamak Lata 280
UJNVL
Chamoli
HEP
Rishi Ganga 70
UJNVL
Chamoli
I HEP
8

Mandakini
Alakananda

Jadhganga
Birahigana
ga
Jadhganga
Dhauligan
ga
Dhauligan
ga
Rishigang
a

7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

Rishi Ganga
II HEP
Bhilanganga
- II HEP
Bhilanganga
III HEP
Jalandhariga
d HEP
Byundergan
ga HEP
Melkhet
HEP
Rambara
HEP
Gaurikund
HEP

35

UJNVL

Chamoli

11

UJNVL

Tehri

25

Polyplex

Tehri

Rishigang
a
Bhilangan
a
Bhagirathi

11.8

Uttarkashi

Bhagirathi

Chamoli
Chamoli

Bhyunderg
anga
Pinder

76

Hausil
Hydro
Super
Hydro
Melkhet
Power
LANCO

Rudraprayag

Mandakini

24

LANCO

Rudraprayag

Mandakini

24.3
15

Middle Ganga Reach:

The river in the middle reach enters and flows in plains, meandering mostly on a bed of fine
sand. The river has a wide bed and flood plain. Substantial portion of the river flow is diverted to
support agricultural activities through a system of Canals. The Uttar Pradesh Irrigation
Department (UPID) is primarily responsible for managing these irrigation projects.
The first significant irrigation projects, with head works at Bhimgoda barrage located at
Haridwar was constructed more than a century ago. It has a canal system called Upper Ganga
Canal having a main canal of 10500 cusec capacity. Another project, known as Eastern Ganga
Canal, having canal of 5800 cusec capacity was commissioned in early seventies, mainly for
irrigation during Khariff season when there is a lot of water in the river and some irrigation in
other seasons, when water is available from releases from Tehri. The next significant irrigation
project is located near Bijnore. It has a canal system called Middle Ganga Canal having a
capacity of 10,260 cusec. The Narora barrage constructed mainly for the water supply to Atomic
Power Plant and from this barrage, Lower Ganga Canal system of capacity 9000 cusec was
constructed in early eighties. A parallel canal system of 4600 cusec was added later by the state
of UP. These three irrigation canal systems divert fresh water from the river for irrigation which
affects the flows downstream of Narora particularly up to Allahabad.
Substantial amount of flow, conveyed through a feeder canal originating from the barrage at
Kalagarh on the river Ramganga, is introduced into the river Ganga just downstream of
Garhmukteshwar to ensure sufficient quantities of water for Narora Atomic Power Plant. A
Schematic diagram showing the major canal systems is depicted in fig.

The confluence of Ramganga at Kusumkher, Kali at Kannauj and Yamuna at Allahabad augment
the flow in the river. However, these rivers, particularly Ramganga and Kali also bring a lot of
domestic/ industrial pollution load. In addition, several towns, industries and agricultural
activities contribute to the point and non-point pollution load in this reach. Significant being the
leather tanneries at Kanpur. Thus, river flow and water quality are the key concerns in this reach.
Excessive use of ground water, by farmers, is depleting the ground water aquifers. At a number
of places water is pumped out from the river or riverside wells to grow sugarcane and other
cropsIn addition, general degradation of river system is visible due to encroachment of river bed,
indiscriminate gravel/ sand mining, riverbed farming, active netting of fish, open defecation, etc.
In many places, dumping of solid wastes including floral offerings and other materials used for
religious purposes, washing of clothes, wallowing of animals, throwing un-burnt/ partially burnt
dead bodies adversely affect aesthetics, water quality and aquatic life. Many important small,
large and mega religious congragations are a part of socio-cultural dimensions of the riverine
system at several places, the most important being at Haridwar, Allahabad and Varanasi. Rapid
urbanization along the river banks puts tremendous pressure on the scarce water resources.

Lower Ganga Reach:

The river in the third reach is wide and considerable changes in the sediment transport and
deposition is observed which eventually leads to frequent change in the river course and wide
spread flooding.

10

In this reach, the river Ganga receives water from three categories of rivers. In the first category
are perennial rivers that originate in Himalayas and carry snow fed flows with significant
discharge in the non-monsoon season. This includes Kosi, Gandak, Karnali (Ghaghra) and
Mahakali (Sharda) river systems. In the second category are the rivers like Mechi, Kankalm,
kamla, Bagmati, West Rapti and Babai rivers which are fed by precipitation as well as ground
water recharge and springs. Although these rivers are also perennial, they are commonly
characterized by wide seasonal fluctuations in discharge. The third category of river systems
includes a large number of small rivers in the terrain which originate from the southern Shivalik
range of hills. These rivers are seasonal with little flows during the dry season but characterized
by flash floods during the monsoon.
Many important small, large and mega religious congregations are a part of socio-cultural
dimensions of the riverine system at several places, the most important being at Ganga Sagar
where the river merges into the sea.

HYDROLOGY OF GANGA BASIN

Rainfall, subsurface flows and snow melt from glaciers are the main sources of water in river
Ganga. Surface water resources of Ganga have been assessed at 525 billion cubic meter (BCM).
Out of its 17 main tributaries Yamuna, Sone, Ghagra and Kosi contribute over half of the annual
water yield of the Ganga. These tributaries meet the Ganga at Allahabad and further downstream.
The river has a problem of low flows between the Haridwar - Allahabad stretch, as may be seen
from Figures shown. December to May are the months of lean flow in the Ganga. The lean flow
during these months, at some important towns along the river Ganga, is shown in Figure.

11

12

On an average, each square km of the Ganga basin receives a million cubic meter (MCM) of
water as rainfall. 30% of this is lost as evaporation, 20%seeps to the subsurface and the
remaining 50% is available as surface runoff. The deep channel of the river bounded by high
banks facilitates the passage of ground water as base flow. Annual flooding is the characteristic
of all rivers in the Ganga basin. The Ganga rises during the monsoon but the high banks restrict
the flood water from spreading. The flood plain is usually 0.5 to 2 km wide. This active flood
plain is flooded every year. There are many structures on the Ganga which divert its discharge.

13

14

Pollution
In August 2009, the Union government re-launched the Ganga Action Plan with a reconstituted
National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). Under the notification, dated February 20,
2009, the government gave the river the Current state, why it is so, and the way ahead. The
Ganga Action Plan (GAP-I) had selected 25 towns located along the river in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
and West Bengal. In 1993, the second phase (GAP-II) continued the programme, but included
work on four tributaries of the river status of a National River. The objective was to ensure
abatement of pollution and conservation of the river. The key difference between the first Ganga
Action Programme and now, is the recognition that the entire basin of the river has to be the
basis for planning and implementation. It is not enough to plan for one citys pollution, without
considering the impact of the pollution on the downstream area. It is accepted that the plan for
pollution control must take into account the need for adequate water in the river its ecological
flow.

How polluted is the river?

The challenge of pollution remains grim. According to July 2013 estimates of the Central
Pollution Control Board (CPCB), fecal coliform levels in the mainstream of the river some
2,500 km from Gangotri to Diamond Harbor remain above the acceptable level in all stretches,
other than its upper reaches.

15

But even in these reaches, there are worrying signs as fecal coliform levels are increasing in
places like Rudraprayag and Devprayag, suggesting that there is inadequate flow for dilution
even in these highly oxygenated stretches.
The pollution levels are a cause of worry in the hotspots the mega and fast growing cities
along the river. According to the CPCBs monitoring data, biological oxygen demand (BOD)
levels are high downstream of Haridwar, Kannauj and Kanpur and peak at Varanasi. But what is
worrying is that in all the stretches, pollution is getting worse. This is not surprising given that all
along this heavily populated stretch, freshwater intake from the river is increasing.
In this way, water is drawn for agriculture, industry and cities but what is returned is only waste.
Funds have been used up to create infrastructure, without much attention paid to the use and
efficacy of this hardware. But with all this done, the cities are still losing the battle with the
amount of infrastructure that has yet to be built to convey the sewage and then of course, to treat
it and dispose of it.
Sewage generation is underestimated and hence the treatment capacity needed is much higher.
The actual gap between generation and treatment is grossly underestimated. The problem lies in
the manner in which governments estimate pollution load and plan for sewage treatment. The
estimation of sewage generation is based on the quantum of water supplied. The assumption is
that 80 per cent of the water supplied is returned as wastewater. But as cities do not know how
much water is lost in distribution and how much groundwater is used within their boundaries, the
waste generation estimate could be wide off the mark
The actual measured discharge of wastewater into Ganga is 6,087 MLD which is 123 per cent
higher than the estimated discharge of wastewater. In other Words, the gap between treated and
untreated waste is not 55 per cent, but 80 per cent.
According to this, the estimation is that the BOD load is 1,000 tonne/day in the mainstream of
the river.

Classification of Industrial Units with respect to

products
Industrial units are classified in following sectors.
Chemicals: which mainly include fertilizer, petro-chemical, pesticides and pharmaceuticals.
Dairy, Food & Beverage
Pulp and Paper
Tannery
Textile, Bleaching & Dyeing
Other (Cement, Slaughter house, Ordinance, Packaging & printing, Paint, Electronics&
Electrical,
Thermal, Kattha kachh, Electroplating, Metallurgical, automobile etc.

16

Sector wise distribution of industries

There are 764 industries in the main stem of Ganga and referred tributaries Kali (E) and
Ramganga. Out of which 687 industrial units are in Uttar Pradesh followed by 42 in
Uttarakhand. Sector wise distribution of industrial units is given in figure. It is observed from the
figure that number wise tanneries are dominant industries followed by sugar, pulp & paper and
Textile, dyeing and bleach

Status of Water Consumption and Wastewater

Generation
Total water consumption in the industries is 1123 MLD and waste water generation is 501 MLD.
Uttar Pradesh is the dominating states with respect to water consumption (62 % of total water
consumed) and wastewater generation (45% of total wastewater generated) followed by
Uttarakhand. This is summarized in table-8.1 and percentage wise consumption and generation is
depicted in figures.

STATE WISE STATUS OF INDUSTRIAL UNIT, WATER

CONSUMPTION AND WASTE WATER GENERATION
STATE

NO. OF
INDUSTRY

WATER
CONSUMPTION(MLD)

WASTE WATER
GENERATION(MLD)

Uttarakhand

42

224

127
17

Bihar
Jharkhand
UP
West Bengal

13
0
687
22

91
0
693
116

17
0
269
87

TOTAL

764

1123

501

Close examination to the table and figure-it is observed

Wastewater generation is nearly 45% in terms of total water consumption.
In terms of water consumption industries in Uttar Pradesh consumes maximum water followed
by Uttarakhand and West Bengal. But wastewater generation with respect to water consumption
is enhanced in Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

Sector wise water consumption and wastewater

generation is given in table reveals from the stated table
Maximum water consumed and generated by Pulp and Paper industries. The consumption is
followed by sugar industries while generation is followed by chemical industries.
Table-8.2: Status of sector specific industrial water consumption

18

STATUS OF SECTOR SPECIFIC INDUSTRIAL

WATER CONSUMPTION AND WASTE WATER
GENERATION
TYPE OF INDUSTRY

CHEMICAL
DISTILLERY
FOOD,DAIRY,BEVERA
GES
PULP AND PAPER
SUGAR
TEXTILE,BLEACHING
& DYEING
TANNERY
OTHER
TOTAL

TOTA
L
UNIT
S
27
33
22

WATER
CONSUMPTION(M
LD)

WASTEWATER
GENERATION(ML
D)

210.9
78.8
11.2

97.8
37
6.5

67
67
63

306.3
304
14.1

201.4
96
11.3

444
41
764

28
168
1123

22
28.6
501

Percentage wise water consumption and wastewater generation in various categories of industrial
sectors is given in figure -8.4&8.5 and it is observed from the figures that
Sugar, pulp and paper and chemical are the three major sectors which consume approx 73%
water and generate 79% of total wastewater.

19

FIG. Status of state wise water consumption and wastewater generation from grossly Polluting industries

20

UTTARAKHAND
Number of grossly polluting industries located in Uttarakhand is 42. Out of which, 7 industries are
Discharging in the main stem of Ganga and located in the region of Dehradun and rest are located in the
sub basin of Ranmganga in the region of Kashipur and Udham Singh Nagar. In Uttarakhand category
wise only three types of industries are located; these arepulp and paper, sugar and distillery. The status of
water consumption and wastewater generation by these industries is stated in table.

It is observed from the table that 96% wastewater generated is discharged in Ramganga riverine system,
which ultimately leads to the main stem of River Ganga at Kannauj Upstream (Uttar Pradesh). Pulp and
paper industry is the sector which generates 90% of total waste water; this is illustrated in the figure.

21

UTTAR PRADESH
The category wise and water body wise wastewater generation in the state of Uttar Pradesh is
depicted in table. It is observed from the table that there are 687 industries of grossly polluting
status discharging
269 MLD wastewater. The Sugar, Pulp and Paper and Chemical are the major industrial sector
which discharged 70% of total wastewater generated in the state. Out of 688 industries 594 are
located in the main stem of Ganga River. It is also observed that 442 industries are tannery.
Volume wise highest wastewater 85.7 MLD is coming from sugar industry.
This indicates that the tannery although have a higher number of industries but discharging less
volume of wastewater.
With respect to River Kali-East sugar, distillery and pulp & paper are the major industrial sectors
which are discharging in to the river. In comparison to the number of the industries with respect
to Ganga is small (53) but discharging 71.4 MLD wastewater. Pulp & paper is discharging 36.8
MLD wastewater, which is 52% of the total wastewater discharged into the river Kali-East by
grossly polluting industries. Next to Pulp & paper is Sugar industry (15) and discharging 14.8
MLD.
It is pertinent to mention that Ramganga which houses 44 industries but discharging 106 MLD
wastewater and major of them are sugar industries which are discharging 50% of total
wastewater discharged into the river Ramganga in UP.
The percentage wise wastewater generation in these three riverine systems and sector specific
wastewater generation in Uttar Pradesh is given in figure-8.7 &8.8 respectively. The status of
sector specific water consumption and wastewater generation in Uttar Pradesh and in the three
riverine systems in Uttar Pradesh is given in table respectively.

22

23

BIHAR
In the state of Bihar, discharge from grossly polluting industries is not so prominent in
comparison to other states with respect to river Ganga. The total discharge from industries is
17.3 MLD, out of which 7 MLD is from Barauni refinery. The information regarding wastewater
from various type of industries is summarized in Table.

24

West Bengal
In the stretch of West Bengal the river Hooghly (Ganga is named as Hoogly here) receives 87
MLD wastewater from 22 grossly polluting industries. It is pertinent to note that various
categories of industries are housed on the banks of Hooghly, this is summarized in table-8.9. It is
observed that chemical industry discharges 70% of total wastewater generated, followed by Pulp
& paper which 20% is. This is a deviation from the trend in Upper and middle Ganga.
25

Comparison of industrial wastewater discharges among

three riverine system: Kali- East, Ramganga & main stem of
Ganga
A comparison of wastewater discharged in river Ganga, Kali-East and Ramganga in Uttarakhand
and Uttar Pradesh (up to Kannauj Downstream) all together is shown in table-8.10 and
26

percentage discharged by grossly polluting industries in these rivers at Uttarakhand and Uttar
Pradesh is depicted in figure.

It is observed from the figure-10 that wastewater discharged by grossly polluting industries
from
Uttarakhand to Uttar Pradesh upto Kannauj downstream all together in river Ramganga is 69%
followed
by Kali-East (22%) and River Ganga (9%).

27

 However if we take the whole stretch of River Ganga the percentage of total wastewater
discharged to river Ramganga is 46% followed by Ganaga (40%) and Kali-East (14%). This is
depicted in figure.

CONCLUSION
There are 764 grossly polluting industries discharging wastewater to main stem of River
Ganga (either directly or through drains) and its two important tributaries Kali-east and
Ramganga in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and west Bengal. Out of 764 industries,
687 are located in Uttar Pradesh.
The water consumed by grossly polluting industries is 1123 MLD.
Total wastewater generated by grossly polluting industries is 501 MLD. This is 45%
(approx.) of total water consumed.
In terms of number of industrial units, tannery sector is dominating where as in terms of
wastewater generation Pulp & paper sectors dominate followed by chemical and sugar
sector.
It is observed that GPI in Bihar generate minimum wastewater (19%) in terms of water
consumed whereas GPI in West Bengal generate maximum wastewater 75.5% in terms of
water consumed this followed by Uttarakhand (56.7%) and Uttar Pradesh (39%%).
In the riverine system Ramganga carries maximum industrial wastewater followed by
main stream of river Ganga and Kali-East respectively.

28

Case Studies using Papers & Journals:

VARANASI
The Ganga flows through Varanasi touching its western bank. This is the city Hindus come to, to
worship and to cremate the dead. This is the city of Gods. But the river millions worship is still
polluted. But not because there has been no attempt to clean it up.
The citys tryst with pollution control started way back in 1954, when the state government
started a sewage utilization scheme, building sewage pumping stations on different Ghats to
intercept the sewage for diversion to a sewage farm located at the far end of the city in Dinapur.
Pumping stations were built at the Harishchandra Ghat, Ghora Ghat (renamed Dr Rajendra
Prasad Ghat), Jalasen Ghat and Trichlochan Ghat. This infrastructure was completed by the
1970s and handed over to the Jal Sansthan (the citys water agency) for operation.
But little was done beyond this. The works became defunct very soon. In 1986, with the launch
of the Ganga Action Plan these projects were revised. More money was sanctioned and spent to
refurbish the pumping stations and build and repair drains. In addition, three sewage treatment
plants with a combined capacity of 101.8 MLD were built: 9.8 MLD at Bhagwanpur; 80 MLD at
Dinapur; and 12 MLD at the Diesel Locomotive Works.
Then hectic parleys began to spend more money on building new sewage hardware. In March
2001, the National River Conservation Directorate sanctioned another Rs416 crore for more
trunk sewers and interception drains. Tendering started in earnest. But in September 2001 the
Supreme Court, listening to a public interest matter on river pollution, halted the process and
asked for a review of the plan. In 2002, however, the apex court vacated its earlier order. The
plan was ready and cleared for implementation. Everyone forgot the city was already out of
money to run the existing plants.
This is when as early as 1997 a city-based group, the Sankat Mochan Foundation, had suggested
an affordable variation on the expensive pollution scheme. The city could build watertight
interceptors along the ghats that worked on the principle of gravity, so cutting electricity
(pumping) costs. Some 5 km downstream of the city, in Sota, the sewage could be treated in
advanced integrated oxidation ponds with the help of bacteria and algae. The capital cost of this
alternative was projected at Rs 150 crore.
But Varanasis public water works department has rejected this proposal saying that it is not
feasible for it would disrupt pilgrims and damage the historical Ghats during excavation.
With the re-launch of the Ganga action programme, the city has sensed a new opportunity. The
National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) and the Japan International Cooperation
Agency have agreed to fund another Rs524 crore worth of projects for beautification of the Assi
ghats and sewage infrastructure. By June 2013, for which the last progress reports are available
on the NGRBA site, some 12 per cent work had been completed. It is difficult to say if this plan
will be any different from the rest as it does more of the same sewage treatment plants;
infrastructure; drains and pumps and pipes. All that has not worked till date in this cash and
energy-starved city. Clearly, when there is money to send down the river, cleaning it is not the
issue at all.

29

Current status
The city has a heap of problems:
First, its current and upgraded sewage networkis grossly inadequate. According to the
City Sanitation Plan, commissioned by the Union ministry of urban development, the 400
km sewerage network mainly exists in the old city and the ghats area. However, even this
is over 100 years old and extremely dilapidated. According to the UP government, over
80 per cent of the city remains un-sewered.
Second, one third of the city lives in slums, with little access to any sanitation and
sewerage facilities. The City Sanitation Plan notes that 15 per cent of the city does not
have access to toilets and resorts to open defecation.

30

31

Third, because of lack of sewerage, many parts of the city (particularly the peripheral
areas) depend on septic tanks. But there is no formalized sewage management and tanks
overflow into open drains and floods low-lying areas.
Fourth, there is virtually no solid waste management in the city and therefore, this waste
also ends up clogging drains and fouls up the river.

In this situation, it is not enough to plan for upgrading the sewage network or building more
sewage treatment plants.

Current sewage treatment plants

The official sewage generation of the city is estimated to be 233 MLD. This is based on the
calculation that 80 per cent of the water supplied by the water utility (Jal Nigam) is returned as
sewage.
However, this is a gross underestimate, because it does not take into account the groundwater
usage or the flow of water into the drains from other sources. The CPCBs 2013 measurement of
drain outfall shows that the city discharges 410 MLD double the official sewage estimate.
The current sewage treatment capacity is 101.8 MLD. In other words, only 25 per cent of the
waste generated can even be treated and 75 per cent is discharged without treatment into the
river. The Jal Nigam maintains that the treated waste of Dinapur and Bhagwanpur STPs is used
for irrigation.
Now the city is adding 260 MLD treatment capacity, but the question is if this will provide the
solution that is so desperately needed? The question still remains if the city will be able to
intercept the waste to take to the treatment plants, without a sewage network. Then, the quantum
of discharge from the drains is still much higher and will probably increase over this period as
population grows. Therefore, the increased capacity in STP will still not be sufficient.
The question also is what will happen to the treated effluent and if it will be mixed with
untreated waste in the open drains that discharge into the river.
Finally and most critically, where will the city get its electricity and finances to run these plants?
This is why the city needs to a relook at its current sewage treatment strategy. According to
CPCB (2013), the city has three key drains Rajghat, Nagwa, Ramnagar and two rivers (also
termed as drains because of their quality) Varuna and Assi. The question is how the waste of
these drains can be best intercepted and taken to sewage treatment facilities and then reused and
recycled.
Two drains are critical because of the high BOD load Nagwa drain (BOD load is 4,000
kg/day) and Varuna drain (BOD load is 3,888 kg/day).
It is also critical that the drains are developed as in situ treatment zones.According to the City
Sanitation Plan the wastewater in the drains is diluted because of flow from household septic
tanks and therefore, it is possible to clean these drains and to develop them as open treatment
facilities.
It is important that the solid waste and sanitation services in the city are vastly improved. In all
this the financial strategy will be critical. The Ganga at Varanasi can only be cleaned if the city is
cleaned.

32

Excerpt from paper

International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering
ISSN 0974-5904, Vol. 04, No. 04, August 2011, pp. 698-711

Assessment of Water Quality of River Ganga along

Ghats in Varanasi City, U. P., India
Assessment of water quality was done in holy River Ganga district of Varanasi, (U.P.) India in 2009.
Water samples were collected from five different sites namely (S1)-Samne Ghat, (S2)-Assi Ghat, (S3)Harishchandra Ghat, (S4) Dasaswamedh Ghat, (S5)- Dr.Rajendra Prashad Ghat.
S1- Samne Ghat
S2- Assi Ghat
S3- Harishchandra Ghat
S4- Dashashwamegh Ghat
S5- Dr. Rajendra Prashad Ghat

Results and Discussion:

pH values:
As depicted in the table 5 and figure 1, the pH values were found to be significant due to
Ghats/Ganges and different days of intervals. Alkaline range of pH in most of the water sample
may be due to the general alkaline nature of the effluents being released into sampling
sites/locations. This pH values having higher concentration as compared to BIS standards
recommended. The different Ghats/Ganges was slightly above neutral making its not safe for
drinking and other purposes.

33

34

35

HARIDWAR:
INTRODUCTION
Pollution of a river first affects its chemical quality and then systematically destroys the
community disrupting the delicate food web. Diverse uses of the rivers are seriously impaired
due to pollution and even the polluters like industry suffer due to increased pollution of the
rivers. River pollution has several dimensions and effective monitoring and control of river
1
pollution requires the expertise from various disciplines .Pollution of river is a global problem.
In India it is reported that about 70% of the available water is polluted. The chief source of
pollution is identified as sewage constituting 84 to 92 percent of the waste water. Industrial waste
water comprised 8 to 16 percent.

Study Area

EXPERIMENTAL
A total of 90 water samples were collected from five different spots during different seasons over
a period of two years (November 2006 to October 2008). The samples were taken in BOD
36

bottles and plastic jerry canes and brought to the laboratory with necessary precautions. All
samples were labeled properly. Some parameters like temperature, velocity, pH and dissolved
oxygen were measured on site. Grab sampling was generally applied during the sampling. Water
samples were analysed by standard methods .The samples were analyzed for following
physicochemical parameters:
Water Temperature (C), velocity(m/s), pH, hardness (mg/l), turbidity (JTU), total
dissolved solids (mg/l), total suspended solids (mg/l), electrical conductivity (mho/cm),
free CO2(mg/l), dissolved oxygen (mg/l), B.O.D. (mg/l), C.O.D. (mg/l), alkalinity (mg/l),
chloride (mg/l), calcium (mg/l), magnesium (mg/l), sodium (mg/l), potassium
(mg/l),carbonate (mg/l), bicarbonate (mg/l) and sulphate (mg/l).
Eleven parameters were taken for calculation of water quality index: Ca, Mg, Na, K, NO3
2-

, SO4 , Cl , hardness, TDSD, B.O.D. and total alkalinity.

It is an established fact that the more harmful a given pollutant is, the smaller is its standard
permissible value recommended for drinking water. Therefore, the Weights for various water
quality characteristics are assumed to be inversely proportional to the recommended standards
for the corresponding parameters (Tiwari and Ali). That is,
Wi= K\Si
Where Wi is the unit weight and Si is the recommended standard for the ith parameter P i. The
constant of proportionality K in equation can be determined from the condition
Wi=K(1\ Si)
The quality rating qi for the ith parameter Pi is calculated from the following equation:
qi=100(Vi/ Si)
Where Vi is the observed value. The subindex Si for the the parameter Pi is given by
(Si)=(qiwi)
The overall WQI can be calculated by aggregating the quality rating (qi) or subindices, linearly,
and taking their weighted mean, i.e.
WQI=[(qiwi/wi)]

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The results indicate that the quality of water varies considerably from location to location. A
summary of the findings is given below:
The water temperature of the Ganga at Hardwar ranged between 10.18 C to 19.73 C.
The maximum water temperature started decreasing due to the melting of snow at the
peaks of the Himalaya. The water temperature showed an upward trend from winter
season to summer season followed by a downward trend from rainy season onwards.
The velocity was found to be directly proportional to the flood level and also with
gradient of the river stretch. The water level and its velocity started increasing from
winter season onwards due to melting of snow at the place of origin of the river. The
maximum velocity 2.18 m/s of the Ganga at Haridwar was recorded in monsoon season
and the minimum velocity 0.39m/s was observed in winter season.
37

The conductivity of water is affected by the suspended impurities and also depends upon
the amount of ions in the water. The highest conductivity 415.66mho/cm of the Ganga
water was observed in monsoon season. From monsoon season onwards the conductivity
decreased and minimum conductivity 95.89mho/cm was observed in winter season.
The turbidity in the river Ganga at Haridwar was lowest during winter season. From
summer season onwards the water became turbid due to melting of snow and rains. The
maximum turbidity 608.15 JTU was observed in monsoon season and minimum 19.15
JTU was observed in winter season.
Total solids may affect water quality. Water with high total solids generally is of inferior
potability. Total dissolved solids were observed maximum 540.68 mg/l in rainy season
and minimum 42.58 mg/l in winter season. Total suspended solids were recorded
maximum 3125.76mg/l in monsoon season and minimum 110.28 mg/l.
The pH of the Ganga river at Haridwar was slightly alkaline. It ranged from 7.06 to 8.35.
The Ganga water contained highest dissolved oxygen during winter season, followed by a
gradual decrease to its lowest values during monsoon season.
The higher concentrations of dissolved oxygen during winter season was probably due to
low water temperature, no turbidity and increased photosynthetic activity of the green
algae found on the submerged stones and pebbles. The maximum 11.71 mg/l oxygen
content of water was recorded in winter season and minimum 7.08 mg/l in rainy season.
From monsoon season the water of Ganga starts becoming turbid which reduces the
photosynthetic activity of the algae and thus decreases oxygen concentration.
Free carbon dioxide in the Ganga water was invariably present throughout the year. It
fluctuated from 1.15mg/l in winter season to 5.39 mg/l in rainy season. The free carbon
dioxide was found to be maximum in monsoon season and minimum in winter season.

38

Assessment of bacterial indicators and physicochemical parameters to

investigate pollution status of Gangetic river system of Uttarakhand (India)

Materials and methods

The Gangetic river system of Uttarakhand was intensively surveyed to select different sites for sample
collection. The study area was divided into three different stretches, i.e. upper, middle and lower stretch.
While Bhagirathi and Alaknanda both comprised upper and middle stretches, one in each tributary, the
lower stretch was predominantly of Ganga, i.e. downstream to Devprayag (Sangam) till Haridwar The
total stretch covered in this study was 440 km, out of which Alaknanda comprised a stretch of 200 km,
Bhagirathi comprised a stretch of 170 km and lower Ganga comprised a stretch of 70 km. The samples
were carefully collected in triplicate from 32 different sites in sterile containers, and were transported on
ice to the laboratory. Samples were collected in three seasons, i.e. summer, rainy and winter from all
selected sites.
The bacterial population in different samples was estimated by inoculating nutrient agar (HiMedia) plates
with 0.1 ml of suitable dilutions. The pH of medium and incubation temperatures was adjusted according
to the pH and temperature of respective sites, unless mentioned otherwise. The results were expressed as
colony forming units (cfu) per unit volume, enumerated after 48 h of incubation. However, the plates
were incubated in refrigerator where the native temperature of sample was below 0 8C. Isolates having
different cell morphology and colony characteristics were selected and stored on nutrient agar slants at
48C or 28C as and when required. All trials were performed in triplicate.

Discussion
In present study, all sites were found to have high TVC. In fact, the water of Ganga is used for drinking
(Aachman) as part of rituals in this region. Although the higher TVC values suggest that this practice
should be avoided. The TVC values were relatively higher in holy places like Haridwar and Rishikesh
which may be attributed to the presence of large population residing at the banks. These sites witness holy
dip and mass bathing by a large number of pilgrims as an old age ritual in India, which is a constant
source of contamination of water bodies (Semwal and Akolkar, 2006).
The total coliform count was relatively higher in rainy season than summer and winter, which suggest
role of precipitation on the sources and extent of microbial pollution. As a matter of fact, the banks of
Alaknanda are more densely populated and face heavy anthropological activity as compared to
Bhagirathi. Earlier, Fokmare and Musaddiq (2001) have correlated high content of MPN in surface and
ground water Of Akola, Maharashtra with the population density. Also the fact that the number of subtributaries falling in Alaknanda is more than Bhagirathi may be responsible for the higher coliform count.
Kulshrestha and Sharma (2006) reported increase in coliform count of Ganga at Haridwar during
Ardhkumbh and suggested that the water becomes unfit for drinking as well as bathing purpose because
ofmass bathing. Significant change in water quality of Ganga at Haudeshwarnath (Pratapgarh) has been
reported by Sinha et al. (1991). There was no definite pattern of FC count in different stretch of study
area, which is not in accordance to the findings of Baghel et al. (2005) who observed that the TC and FC
counts are higher in summer followed by rainy and winter. The absence of FC and FS in most of the sites
of study area during winter may be attributed to the fact that the pilgrimage to these sites is suspended
because of harsh climatic conditions.
39

Kistemann et al. (2002) observed that in the case of rainfall, the microbial loads of running water
suddenly increase and reach reservoir bodies very quickly. FC/FS ratio was obtained highest in the rainy
season and was negligible in winter season, which may be because the relative frequency of FC from
human sources increases in rainfall. These findings are in accordance to those observed by Baghel et al.
(2005) who have reported high bacterial counts in these regions. However, they selected only 16 sites in
present study area, in contrast to 32 selected in this study. Baghel et al. (2005) concluded that large
number of animals used by pilgrims in upper stretch of
Gangetic river system increase FS load. In rainy season, due to runoff of water having animal excreta
from upper stretch to lower stretch leads to the high counts of FS in the lower stretch. Kistemann et al.
(2002) observed that in the case of rainfall, the microbial loads of running water suddenly increase and
reach reservoir bodies very quickly. These observations explain the reason of increase of bacterial
contamination from upper stretch to lower stretch.

40

RISHIKESH (UTTARAKHAND)
The present study was intended to calculate water quality index (WQI) for National river (Ganga) of India
at Rishikesh for drinking, recreation and other purpose by using eight water quality parameters:
turbidity, DO, BOD, COD, Free CO2, TS, TSS and TDS.
Ganga Action Plan program launched by Government of India in April 1985 in order to reduce the
pollution load on the river Ganga, but it failed to decrease the pollution level in the river, after spending
more than 9 billion rupees over a period of 15 years
It is well known that clean water is absolutely essential for several purposes for healthy living (Mandalam
et al., 2009). Rivers are the most important natural resource for human development but it is being
polluted by indiscriminate disposal of sewage, industrial waste and plethora of human activities, which
affects its physicochemical and microbiological quality. Increasing problem of deterioration of river water
quality, it is necessary to monitoring of water quality to evaluate the production capacity (Mishra et al.,
2009).
The river Ganga is subjected to multiple uses for community water supply, irrigation, bathing, and
disposal of sewage and industrial effluents. According to WHO organization, about 80% of all the
diseases in human beings are caused by water. Ganga is the National river of India, runs its course of over
2500 kms from Gangotri (Uttarakhand) in the Himalayas to Ganga Sagar in the Bay of Bengal through 29
cities with population over 1,00,000, 23 cities with population between 50,000 and 1,00,000, and about
48 towns. It is a river with which the people of India are attached spiritually and emotionally.

Study Area:
The present study has been carried out in Rishikesh to evaluate water quality of river Ganga for drinking
purpose, located in newly carved state of Uttarakhand. Rishikesh is extended from latitude H3007 in the
north to longitude 7819 in the east. H It has an average elevation of 372 meters. Rishikesh had a
population of 59,671 as per 2001 census of India. For present study three sites were selected along the
river Ganga in Rishikesh namely, Lakshman Jhula Pramarth Niketan and Triveni Ghat.
Site-1(Lakshman Jhula) is located at 30o 7' 34'' N to 78o 19' 49'' E. Hanging walking bridge with
the eastern part of the town, where most of religious ashram are located.
Site-2 site was selected at Parmarth Niketa for present study and 307' 2" N 7818' 41" E.
Parmarth Niketan one of the oldest ashram in Rishikesh.
Site 3 was selected in Triveni Ghat for present study. This site situated between 30 6' 10" Nand
7817' 57" E.

41

Showing the selected sampling sites for river Ganga at Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
The water samples from river Ganga were collected at interval of 30 days as per the standard method of
APHA (2005). In this study, for the calculation of water quality index, eight important parameters were
chosen. The WQI has been calculated by using the standard of drinking water quality recommended by
the World Health Organization (WHO). The water samples were collected on monthly basis from Jan
2007 to Dec 2008.
Eight water parameter were considered for calculation of water quality index
(Harkins, 1974; Tiwari et al., 1986; Tiwari and Manzor, 1988; Mohanta and Patra, 2000, Kesharwani et
al., 2004; Padmanabha and Belagalli, 2005)
Water Quality Index (WQI) = qiwi
Where qi (water quality rating) = 100 X (Va-Vi) / (Vs-Vi),
When Va = actual value present in the water sample Vi = ideal value (0 for all parameters except pH and
DO which are 7.0 and 14.6 mg l-1 respectively).
Vs = standard value.
If quality rating qi =0 means complete absence of pollutants,
While 0 < qi < 100 implies that, the pollutants are within the prescribed standard.
Where K (constant) =
1/Vs1 + 1/Vs2 + 1/Vs3 + 1/Vs4.. + 1/Vsn
Sn = n number of standard values.
According to Sinha et al. (2004), if, water quality index (WQI) is less than 50 such water is slightly
polluted and fit for human consumption, WQI between 51 - 80 moderately polluted, WQI between 50 100-excessively polluted and WQI-Severely polluted.

Result and Discussion:

The turbidity in the river Ganga was lowest during winter season. From summer onwards the
water became turbid due to rapid melting of snow and rains. The maximum turbidity 510.07 JTU
was observed in monsoon season (July 2007) at site 1 and minimum 0.00 JTU was observed in
42

winter season (January 2008) at site 1. The turbidity value obtained at all selected there sites was
found to be above standard permissible limits of WHO. This could be attributed due to presence
of organic matter pollution, runoff and heavy rainfall (UNESCO/WHO/UNEP, 2001).
The Ganga water contained highest dissolved oxygen during winter season, followed by a gradual
decrease to its lowest values during monsoon season. The higher concentrations of DO was
recorded during winter season mainly due to low turbidity and increased photosynthetic activity
of the green algae found on the submerged stones and pebbles (Joshi et al., 2009). The maximum
12.10 mg/L oxygen content of water was recorded in winter season (Jan 2007) at site 3 and
minimum 7.14 mg/L at site 2 during monsoon season (July 2008).
The BOD ranged from 1.43 mg/L (Nov 2008) at site 3 to 3.79 mg/L (June 2007) at site 3. The
COD ranged from 2.71 mg/L (Nov 2007) at site 1 to 9.72 mg/L (July 2008) at site 2.
Free carbon dioxide in the Ganga water was invariably present throughout the year. The free
carbon dioxide was found to be maximum in monsoon season and minimum during winter
season.
Water quality index (WQI) is the most effective way to communicate water quality. Water quality
index (WQI) = 0 means complete absence of pollutants. When 0< 100, indicates the water is
under consideration and fit for human use and WQI > 100 reflects its unsuitability for human use
(Bahera et al., 2004). At site 1, the minimum and maximum value of WQI observed 13.87 (Jan
2008) and 1714.76 (July 2007), While at site 2 minimum and maximum value of WQI observed
as 14.59 (Feb. 2008) and 1386.00 (Sept. 2008). However in the case of site 3, minimum and
maximum value was observed as 27.29 (Jan 2008) and 1077.90 (Aug. 2008).

WEST BENGAL
STUDY AREA
Here study area is limited to the river Ganga in the geographical area of the State of West Bengal as
shown. Study has covered a total stretch between generally the discharge of untreated and partially treated
Jangipur to Uluberia (around 387.5 km). Data Collections and Analytical Methods: In this study, the large
and medium scale industries based along the river path in the study area were listed. The small scale
industries are listed in cluster. Pollution load was assessed based on the Primary data, as in drains
discharging wastewater in river Ganga were identified by physical survey along east and west bank of
river Ganga between Jangipur and Uluberia (387.5 km.) and Secondary data, as in qualitative assessment
of river Ganga from the data taken from Government organizations like West Bengal Pollution Control
Board, Central Pollution Control Board.

43

Study Area : River course In West Bengal

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Wastewaters getting discharged in river Ganga through outfall drains were analyzed
for both right bank. The total discharge is shown in Table 1. The o v e r a l l w a s t e water
flow into the river through different outlets on both the left and right banks were As far as
possible, during the survey the wastewater flow categorized as shown in Table 2.The
contribution of BOD and COD from exclusively its domestic wastewater along both left and
right bank of river Ganga has been found as 17,583.33 kg/day and 43,208.21 kg/day
respectively. The total BOD and COD load has been load getting discharged through
outfalls drains along left and right bank of river Ganga has been assessed as 97 MT/day and
318 MT/day as samples were collected in two sets from different stations
highlighted in
Table 3 and 4.The category A has contributed around 64.87% from both left and right
bank river Ganga whereas about 17.56% has fallen under the category B classified based
on flow. The domestic waste water has been found around 77% based on population
contributing to pollution. Thus per capita BOD contribution is 6.23 gm per capita per day
which is less than 3 gm/capita/day. It may also be noted that per capita average wastewater is
discharged usually 100 L conductivity, whereas 30 mg/L of BOD can be discharged into the
river Ganga so far the CPCB standard i.e. 3 gm/capita/day (30 mg/L x 100 L).
The maximum and minimum Total Coliform (TC) and Fecal Coliform of river Ganga along
both left and right bank canals have been highlighted in table 5 and categorized A, B, C,
D.

44

: Extent of Organic Pollution (Outfall category wise): BOD

River
Bank

Outfall category
A (kg/day)

Outfall category
B (kg/day)

Outfall category
C (kg/day)

Outfall category
D (kg/day)
1900
.86
3099
.72
5000
.58
5.16

LEFT

53733.41

14466.15

2043.55

RIGHT

9112.95

2544.38

TOTA
L
%

62846.36

17010.53

7745
.95
9789
.50
10.10

64.87

17.56

Outfall category
E (kg/day)
2221.25

Total
(A+B+C+D+
E) 74365.22

10.48
2231.73
2.30

22513.48
96878.70
100

: Extent of Chemical Pollution (Outfall category wise): COD

River
Bank

Outfall
Outfall
Outfall
Outfall
category A
category B
category C
category D
(kg/day)
(kg/day)
(kg/day)
(kg/day)
LEFT
196354.24
41322.40
5876.836
3926
.16

Outfall
category E
(kg/day)
3315.25

Total
(A+B+C+
D+E)
250794.
886

RIGH
T

42432.68

8244.10

8698
.62

5359
.32

2588.00

67322.7
2

TOTA
L

238786.92

49566.50

14575.46

9285
.48

5903.25

318117.
61

75

15

4.5

2.92

1.9

100

KANPUR (UTTAR PRADESH)

Where nothing has worked
Kanpur has had a long and rather unsuccessful history of cleaning the river that flows in its
midst. It all started in 1985 when under the Ganga Action Plan (GAP-I), it cleaned its drains,
45

expanded its drainage system, built a 130-MLD STP and another 36-MLD plant for treating
wastewater from tanneries. It took 18 years to complete the works under GAP I; meanwhile,
GAP II was started in 1993. This time the focus was on treatment of the remaining 224 MLD, for
which a 200-MLD treatment plant was planned. According to the report of the IIT-Consortiums
for the National Ganga River Basin Authority, the schemes under GAP II are still incomplete,
some 15 years after the plan lapsed. In addition, the city has also got funds from the Jawaharlal
Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) for drainage and sewage works. If all these
funds are put together, the city got the following:
GAP I: Rs 73 crore
GAP II: Rs 87 crore
JNNURM: Rs 370 crore
But the end result is not very encouraging. Pollution is the name of the game in Kanpur. The
problems are as follows:
1. The sewerage network does not exist in large parts of the city and so waste is not conveyed to
the treatment plants.
2. Under the Ganga Action Plan, the objective was to intercept waste from the open drains and to
divert it to STPs. But this did not happen as well because all of the 23 drains of Kanpur were not
tapped and so waste still flows into the Ganga.
3. In this period, the city expanded and new growth happened without drainage and pollution
control. So, even as some drains were intercepted, waste continued to increase and treatment
lagged behind.
4. In 1985, Kanpur generated 200 MLD of waste and had an installed capacity of 171 MLD. By
2013, its 10 drains discharged 600 MLD of waste into Ganga. Its treatment capacity remains the
same as in 1985. It has set up two USB technology based plants in Jajmau of 5 MLD and 36
MLD. In addition it has another 130 MLD plant, which is based on ASP technology.
5. The municipality cannot afford to even run the plants, let alone repair and refurbish the old
sewage system of the city. There is extensive load-shedding, with hours of power cut the waste is
simply bypassed and discharged directly into the river.
As a result, the city with 217 MLD of installed capacity still treats only 100 MLD as the plant
does not work or the sewage does not reach the plant. The official estimate of sewage generation
is roughly 400 MLD, while the actual measured outfall is 600 MLD. In other words, anywhere
between 300-500 MLD of sewage is discharged into the river.
Its biggest and most polluting drain Sisamau has now caught the attention of planners and
there are many proposals to handle its waste from trapping the waste upstream to changing its
course so that it discharges into the Pandu River and not the Ganga. Then the waste will be
treated and wastewater provided to farmers. But for now, all this is on paper. The river continues
to suffer and bleed.
46

POLLUTION REMEDIATION
For the protection of the Ganga many schemes have been setup which aim at the remediation of
the pollution and harm that has been done

2 major Schemes are discussed in detail below namely:

National Mission for Clean Ganga
GAP (GANGA ACTION PLAN)
GAP I
GAP II

National Mission for Clean Ganga

Introduction
The proposal is aimed to assess nature and extent of pollution control needed at various locations
in the water bodies; to evaluate effectiveness of pollution control measures already in place; to
plan rational pollution control strategies and their prioritization; to evaluate water quality trend
over a period of time; to assess and use assimilative capacity of a water body and thereby
reducing cost on pollution control; to understand the environmental fate of different pollutants;
to assess the fitness of water for different uses and to achieve an overall improvement of the
water quality of River Ganga and its tributaries and the proposal would enable a solution for
achieving the very purpose of NGRBA.
The expected output and the outcome of the proposal shall be as follows:
47

Real time (Automatic) monitoring stations at 113 locations

Quality Assurance service for the Real time water quality monitoring system
Bio monitoring at all the real time monitoring locations
Community supported Monitoring at remote locations

Background of Executing Agency

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), a statutory organization, was constituted in
September, 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Further,
CPCB was entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act, 1981.
It serves as a field formation and also provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment
and Forests of the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Objectives
Water quality implies physical, chemical characteristic that ensure, support and sustain the
biological system in order to attain the wholesomeness of the water body under study. Water
quality monitoring therefore consists of periodic and systematic observations to enable its
assessment covering physical, chemical and biological parameters.
Water Quality Monitoring Network (WQMN) is therefore, a programme consisting of three key
components:
Where to observe (Sampling stations)
How frequent to observe (Frequency of samplings)
What to observe (Parameters)
The WQMN therefore designed to fulfill the objective. The Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB) performs the water quality monitoring with the objectives mentioned below.
To assess nature and extent of pollution control needed at various locations in the water
bodies;
To evaluate effectiveness of pollution control measures already in place;
To plan rational pollution control strategies and their prioritization;
To evaluate water quality trend over a period of time;
To assess and use assimilative capacity of a water body and thereby reducing cost on pollution
control;
To understand the environmental fate of different pollutants;
To assess the fitness of water for different uses

Scope of Work
In the Ganges system, there are a number of types of water quality monitoring that would need to
be addressed over time. These include:
Ambient Water Quality (automatic and manual methods; quality assurance)
Upstream and downstream of major urban areas and investments
Along Main stem and in Major tributaries
At Sensitive locations
Major Wastewater inflows (major Nallah mapping and monitoring for polluted stretches)
48

 Industrial effluents (strengthening Env. Regulators)

Solid Waste (studies of polluted stretches)
Non-point sources (studies e.g. agro-chemicals)
Bio-monitoring & Ecological monitoring (special studies)
Sediment/Benthic monitoring (special studies)
Groundwater quality monitoring (data integration)

Locations of WQM stations

Selection of sites of real time monitoring locations is dependent on variation of observations and
agglomeration of industries and urban city waste water discharge. Therefore, the stations are
proposed at key locations, for example, upstream and downstream of cities, at water supply
intake points, at bathing ghats, downstream of wastewater treatment plants on the main stem of
River Ganga across the 5 basin states to provide a state-of-the-art for a real-time picture of the
water quality of the river. The Bio-monitoring will also be conducted at the same locations.

However, locations for community monitoring across the basin will be finalised in consultation
with the community particularly for inaccessible stretches of the river.

Works Proposed
For Real time monitoring network:
Considering the complexity of establishing real-time monitoring stations and the lack of
experience in India, the data service contract is proposed to be implemented in two packages
(split based on geographical spread) and the stations will be established by the service provider
in two phases. This provides the CPCB, the flexibility of changing the monitoring stations and
parameters based on the experience of first phase implementation.
Real time data will be collected with the interval of fifteen minutes, hourly or daily basis
depending on the parameters from the various stations over the Ganga basin.
The real time data collected will be transferred to the Central Repository / Data Server /
RDBMS though the GSM/GPRS telemetry link.

49

 The Data Server will be supported with the mechanism to feed raw data and processed data.
The dataset will be able to monitor manually also through a properly designed calibrated
system.
The filtered and calibrated data will be analyzed and process in the desired form to feed in
the NGRBA Ganga Knowledge Center Portal and also other Websites/ Portals/ Mobile
Applications.

Real time monitoring parameters:

Real time data will be collected with the interval of fifteen minutes, hourly or daily basis
depending on the parameters from the various stations over the Ganga basin. Sensors are
available to monitored 21 parameters through real time system from which the following 18
parameters have been selected for the proposed real time network.

Implementation Schedule:
Considering the complexity of establishing real-time monitoring stations and the lack of
experience in India, the data service contract is proposed to be implemented in two packages
(split based on geographical spread) and the stations will be established by the service provider
in two phases.

50

51

Procurement plan:
Procurement of Goods, Works, consulting and non-consulting services for the project shall be
aligned with the implementation schedule. Accordingly, NGRBA Cell of CPCB need to prepare
a procurement plan for every financial year in accordance to the respective procurement
guidelines / manual laid down in the NGRBA programme frame work.

Risk analysis and mechanism

CPCB introduced automatic water quality monitoring stations in the year 1989-90 for analyzing
water quality of River Ganga. Only two stations were developed and it was analyser based for 5
parameters i.e DO, temperature, Conductivity, Nitrate and Phosphate. However, due to
unavailability of components and O & M problem it could not be run for long time. Later on
52

during the year 1991-96 CPCB had installed 5 real time water quality stations which run on solar
power system in floating boats. The parameters were Turbidity, Conductivity, pH, DO and
temperature. The results for DO reported not reliable and far from the actual value noticed from
manual monitoring. Operation & Maintenance problem was the major drawbacks for both
phases. Considering the above experience CPCB is now in advance stage of implementing 10
real time monitoring stations under hydrology project covering 10 parameters.. O & M issue has
been incorporated in the procedure of procurement itself incorporating all the safeguards.
To avoid further complication for instrumentation or implementation problems CPCB has
proposed data purchase concept. In this mechanism data will provided by farm and only
validated and third party audited data will be accepted and allowed for payment based on agreed
terms of reference of both the party.

Conclusions
Real time data networks for water management are becoming standard practice around
the world. Traditional sampling and analysis techniques result in delays of days to weeks
for analytical results to be available, and results in a real loss of high frequency
information content that can greatly enhance understanding the water quality behavior of
the river. Fluctuations can only be detected through high frequency real time
continuous measurements, with a sampling frequency of typically 15 minutes, that
have the capability to capture most natural variability and measure sporadic
concentration peaks. It is therefore, necessary to support the automatic WQ monitoring
by manual WQMN. The manual WQMN will also help as a quality assurance of the
performance of the automatic monitoring stations and vice-versa.
The benefits of real time systems have been realized over time to include an overall
reduction in monitoring system costs, provision of better spatial coverage and long-term
trends in fluctuations of pollutant concentrations, and a vastly improved understanding
of the natural river processes and conditions. Improved data quality and quantity results
in an improved ability to conduct more accurate mathematical modeling of water quality
trends at local, watershed and regional scales. In addition, the greatly enhanced rapid
detection of hydrologic variability is critical for early warning and rapid response to
harmful events.
The real-time, automated, collection of water quality data will greatly assist the
advancement of obtaining a secure, safe and sustainable quality of water to those who
rely on it. The automated collection of water quality data collection is just a first step in
developing an efficient repository of information that can be used by stakeholders, such
as regulatory agencies, industry, education, research, communities, as well as the public
in general.

53

GANGA ACTION PLAN

To prevent the pollution of river Ganga and to improve its water quality, an Action Plan known
as Ganga Action Plan was formulated in the year 1984 on the basis of a comprehensive survey of
the Ganga Basin carried out by the Central Pollution Control Board under "Assessment and
Development Study of River Basin Series (ADSORB).

OBJECTIVES OF GAP:
The objective, at the time of launching the Ganga Action Plan in 1985, was to improve the water
quality of Ganga to acceptable standards by preventing the pollution load from reaching the
river. Later, in 1987, on the recommendations of the Monitoring Committee of GAP, the
objective of the Plan was modified to restoring the river water quality to the Designated Best Use
class of Ganga, which is Bathing Class (Class B). The standards of water quality for Class B
are given in the following box.

APPROACH OF GANGA ACTION PLAN (GAP)

Studies undertaken before the formulation of the Ganga Action Plan indicated that a large
proportion of pollution load in the river came from the municipal wastewater generated in 25
Class I towns located on the banks of the Ganga, each with a population exceeding one lakh.
Therefore, the emphasis under the Plan was on interception and diversion of wastewater and its
treatment in Sewage Treatment Plants, before discharge into river or on land. In addition, works
were also undertaken to prevent pollution of the river from non-point sources, improving
aesthetics, and promoting public participation. The various types of schemes taken up under
GAP are categorized into core and non-core schemes.

54

Core Schemes:

Interception and diversion (I&D) of sewage, reaching the Ganga River.

Installing treatment facilities to treat the intercepted sewage.

Non-Core Schemes:

Providing facilities of Low Cost Sanitation (LCS) at community and individual levels at
identified locations.
Installation of Crematoria (electric as well as wood based improved crematoria).
River Front Development (RFD) including bathing Ghats.
Afforestation
Public awareness and participation.

INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS
An apex body, namely the Central Ganga Authority, (CGA) was set up under the Chairmanship
of the Prime Minister to finalize the policy framework and to coordinate and oversee the
implementation of the Action Plan.
A Steering Committee was constituted with Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests as
Chairman to consider approval of schemes, allocation of funds and to review progress. A
Monitoring Committee was also constituted to monitor progress of implementation of schemes.
The Ganga Project Directorate (GPD), with the necessary financial and administrative powers,
was set up as a part of the Ministry of Environment and Forests to implement the Action Plan.
GAP II was merged with the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) in 1996. The NRCP
presently covers polluted stretches of 36 rivers spread over 165 towns in 20 States.

GANGA ACTION PLAN PHASEI (GAPI)

Under GAP I, pollution abatement schemes were taken up in 25 Class-I towns in three States of
U.P., Bihar and West Bengal. GAP I was declared complete on 31.03.2000 with an expenditure
of Rs. 452 crore. The details are given below:
States Covered
3 (UP, Bihar and West Bengal)
Towns Covered
25 (UP-6, Bihar-4 and West Bengal-15)
Schemes Sanctioned
261
Schemes Completed
260
Interception and Diversion
88
Sewage Treatment Plants
34
Low Cost Sanitation
43
Crematoria
28
River Front Development
35
Others(afforestation)
32
Sewage Treatment Capacity to be Created
882 MLD(35 STPs)
Sewage Treatment Capacity Created
869 MLD(34 STPs)
Total Expenditure Incurred
Rs. 452 Crores

55

GANGA ACTION PLAN PHASEII (GAPII)

As GAP I addressed only a part of the pollution load of Ganga, GAP II was launched in stages
between 1993 and 1996. 59 towns along the main stem of river Ganga in five States of
Uttarakhand, U.P., Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal are covered under the Plan. The salient
features of the Plan are as under:
States Covered
5 (Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and
West Bengal)
Towns Covered
59 (Uttarakhand-10, UP-12, Bihar-13,
Jharkhand-1 and West Bengal-23)
Schemes Sanctioned
319
Schemes Completed
200
Sewage Treatment Capacity to be Created
277.28 MLD( 37 STPs )
Sewage Treatment Capacity Created
129.77 MLD( 18 STPs)

INDUSTRIALPOLLUTION
Though industrial pollution constitutes around 20% of the total pollution load by volume, its
contribution to polluting the river Ganga is much greater, due to the higher concentration of
pollutants. This problem was sought to be addressed by focusing on Grossly Polluting Industries.
Any industrial unit, discharging into the river effluent having BOD load of 100 kg/day or more
and/or is involved in the manufacture and use of hazardous substances, is classified as grossly
polluting. Such units were identified and asked to install Effluent Treatment Plants.
Presently, 154 grossly polluting industrial units are identified on the main stem of River Ganga.
Of these, 94 units have Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) operating satisfactorily, 22 have ETPs
but they do not operate satisfactorily and 38 Units have closed down. The total number of
grossly polluting units along river Ganga and its tributaries is 478. Of these, 335 units have ETPs
operating satisfactorily, while in 64 units ETPs do not operate satisfactorily and 79 units have
been closed down.

PRE-GAP v/s POST-GAP STATUS:

PRE-GAP DO
The average
values ranged between 6.8-7.2 mg/l. The
values
were generally above 4.0 mg/l.

POST-GAP DO
the value of
DO below 5.0 mg/l was recorded only in
2.6%
cases.

PRE-GAP BOD
The BOD levels were higher at Kannauj
and downstream upto Varanasi. The pattern of
variation, spatial and temporal, was not
smooth.
Maximum values were recorded at Kanpur

POST-GAP BOD
Values exceeding 3.0 mg/l or
more were recorded in 27% samples. values
exceeded the acceptable
standard ( 3.0 mg/l) at Rishikesh and
Haridwar
56

downstream [15.5 mg/l, 14.15 mg/l, 16.39

mg/l
(post-monsoon, winter and summers)].
Minimum
values of less than 3 mg/l were recorded in
the hilly stretches.

only once and twice respectively whereas

between
Kannauj and Kanpur the values exceeded the
acceptable level frequently. Higher values of
BOD
were also recorded at Allahabad and
Varanasi.

PRE-GAP COLIFORM
The variation in total coliforms was 48333,
916667
and 835333 MPN/100 ml (post monsoon,
winter
and summer) at Uluberia with minimum
levels at
Haridwar (43, 2400,2400)

POST-GAP COLIFORM
The fecal coliform counts exceeded the
stipulated limit at Kannauj, Kanpur,
Allahabad and
Varanasi. It is also observed that standards for
coliforms are exceeded more frequently than
for
BOD and DO. Thus coliform and BOD
emerge as
The most critical parameters of river
pollution.

IMPACT OF RIVER ACTION PLAN

ON RIVER QUALITY:
Despite the problems of operation and maintenance river water quality has shown
discernible improvement (in terms of DO and BOD) over the pre-GAP period. This has
to be seen in the background of a steep increase in population with concomitant increase
in organic pollution load. In the absence of Ganga Action Plan, there would have been
further deterioration in these parameters. This conclusion has also been corroborated by
several independent studies(Markandya &Murthy, 2004). The high BOD values in some
of the towns are attributed to increased population and partial interception and diversion
under GAP schemes.
The water quality of the river is likely to improve when all the ongoing works are completed and
the entire waste water being generated is tackled.
A comparison of pre-GAP and post-GAP values of the three critical parameters, namely DO,
BOD and Coliforms reveals the following:
Dissolved Oxygen is largely within acceptable limits. In the upper Ganga, from origin to
Haridwar, the water quality is more or less of Bathing Standards (Class B).
Higher levels of coliform are present almost throughout Ganga. GAP has not been able to
adequately address the issue of coliforms.
The stretch from Kannauj to Kanpur and Allahabad to Varanasi remains critical and needs
focused attention. Apart from higher levels of coliforms, the norms for BOD indicating organic
pollution are also exceeded in this stretch. A study on development of scenarios on comparison
of river water quality without GAP (Markandya & Murthy, 2004) showed that a stretch of about
740 km (out of total 1520 km) between Rishikesh and Rajmahal would have violated the BOD
limit of 3 mg/l without GAP. The study also indicated that stretch of about 437 km had a BOD
level above the permissible limit of 3 mg/l after GAP I.
57

Critical Analysis of GAP:

The implementation of GAP has been successful in preventing further deterioration of
water quality in the river Ganga, and in fact improving it in a few places, even though the
pollution load has increased substantially with time.
It would be safe to infer that if the pollution abatement programme had not been taken up
there would have been an inevitable and sharp deterioration in the quality of water,
posing a serious threat to public health and ecology. Another positive impact of the
programme has been an increased public awareness of the need to protect our rivers and
other sources of surface water from degradation.
In view of the fact that water quality has not yet reached the prescribed standards for
bathing, especially in the stretch from Kannauj to Varanasi, there has been criticism of
the GAP in the media and civil society. A very significant factor in this regard is the
inadequate flow in the river due to abstraction of water for various purposes including
irrigation, drinking water and power generation. A sizeable proportion of water is
diverted into the
Upper and Lower Ganga canals resulting in reduced flow in the main river. On the other
hand, there have been independent studies by academic institutions which have
concluded that the programme has produced positive results. The Cost Benefit Analysis
of GAP-I carried out jointly by the University of Bath and Metroeconomica, UK in
collaboration with several Indian institutions also endorsed the positive outcomes of the
Plan.
Another indicator of the positive impact of GAP I is that several States demanded that the
river conservation programme be extended to other rivers. As a result, the National River
Conservation Plan (NRCP) was launched in 1995, presently covers polluted stretches of
36 rivers in 20 States.

LIMITED SCOPE OF GAP

GAP suffered from the following limitations;
Only a part of the pollution load of the river could be tackled. GAP concentrated on
improving the water quality of Ganga, in terms of organic pollution and dissolved
oxygen.
Only the wastewater of towns flowing through the drains to the river was
targeted.Connections of household toilets to the sewer system, solid waste management,
and some other vital aspects of municipal activities, which impinge on the water quality
were not addressed.
The issue of ensuring environmental flows in the river was not attended to. This has
become increasingly important in view of the competing demands on the Ganga water for
drinking, irrigation and power generation. Adopting more efficient water conservation
practices could have reduced the need for abstraction of water fromGanga.
Tree cover in the Ganga basin has reduced considerably and land use pattern has changed
leading to soil erosion. Sediment yield and its deposit on the river bed were also not
monitored.
Pollution load from non-point sources was addressed marginally.
58

No attention was paid to run-off from agricultural fields, which brings non-biodegradable
pesticides into the river. Measures necessary for the prevention of pollution of the river
water while planning new settlements or expansion of the present ones were not
considered.
Watershed development as well as groundwater and surface water interaction were not
covered.
Only Class-I towns on the banks of rivers were taken up. Thus a large number of urban
settlements remained outside the purview of the Plan.
Pollution from rural sector was not addressed. Several parameters such as heavy metals,
pesticides, nitrogen and phosphorous were not monitored. These parameters have become
important with increased industrialization and urbanization

IMPLEMENTATION:
Problems of land acquisition, court cases, contractual issues and inadequate capacities in the
local bodies/implementing agencies came in the way of speedy implementation.
In some cases, essential components of schemes were not foreseen and estimates had to be
revised. This caused cost over-runs and delays.

OPERATION & MAINTENANCE:

While seeking approval of schemes under the GAP, the State Governments had committed to
ensuring proper O&M of the river conservation assets being created. However, most of the states
could not provide adequate financial resources for O&M, steady and uninterrupted electricity
and experienced manpower. The Municipal Corporations had problems in raising the required
financial and human resources to ensure proper operation and maintenance of pollution
abatement infrastructure created under GAP. Consequently, O&M of these assets suffered
resulting in continued pollution of the river.
Under-utilization of STPs, in some instances due to non-conveyance of the sewage to the STPs,
particularly in the absence of upstream systems such as branch sewer and house connections is
also a serious constraint.

TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES
Decentralized approach was adopted only in a few places under the Plan. The schemes generally
relied on centralized systems, which meant that sewage was transported to the periphery of the
town for treatment before its final disposal. This resulted in long sewer systems, involving
pumping and treatment, which were capital and energy intensive.
A variety of treatment technologies have been adopted under GAP. At places where adequate
land was available, waste stabilization pond technology was used. In most other places,
technologies like the Activated Sludge Process
(ASP), which is a tried and tested technology, as well as up flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket
(UASB), which is a new technology, were adopted. While ASPis an energy intensive
technology, the UASB is less energy intensive but its effluent needs to be polished to meet the
prescribed standards before it can be discharged into the river. The experience of using various
technologies under GAP has been utilized in selection of appropriate treatment technologies in
river pollution abatement programmes subsequently taken up under the
59

NRCP.
The system design for the schemes of interception, diversion & treatment of sewage catered to
the hydraulic and organic load at the time of designing, with provision for increased load in
future. However, treatment facilities at many places were soon found to be inadequate due to
growth of population & new residential colonies.

CONCLUSION
GAP has been a mixed success. Though the programme yielded good results in many stretches,
the problem of pollution in river Ganga has not been fully addressed. The river water quality has
Improved at many locations despite significantly
Increased demographic and other pressures. However, the critical parameters of water quality,
which adversely impact human health, exceed the prescribed standard limits at major locations.

60

What should we do?

1. Accept that for cleaning rivers in India, where cost of pollution control treatment is
unaffordable and unmanageable, the availability of water for dilution will be critical. The
standards for acceptable water quality provide for a dilution factor of 10. Discharge standards
for water bodies are set at 30 for BOD, while bathing water quality standard is 3 BOD. Water
inflow should be provided to build the assimilative capacity in the river for self-cleansing waste.
It is essential to note that rivers without water are drains. The additional water for ecological
flow becomes contested. But this flow must be mandated so that it comes from the state
governments own allocation of riparian water. The government then has a choice to build
storage to collect monsoon water for dilution within its territory or to release water to rivers
and make other choices for use in agriculture, drinking or industry. In other words, all users must
be forced to plan for water needs based on what the river can spare, not what they can snatch.

2. Accept that urban areas will not catch up with the infrastructure to build conventional sewage
networks at the scale and pace needed for pollution control. Thus, the conveyance of waste must
be re-conceptualized and implemented at the time of planning treatment plants. This will lead to
innovative ideas for controlling pollution in drains treatment of sewage and local treatment and
reuse. The discharge of treated effluent will be carefully reconsidered and designed. The treated
effluent will not be mixed with the untreated waste in drains. Instead, all treated effluent will
either be designed for reuse or it will be discharged directly into the river.
Action plan:
1. Do not plan for STPs; instead plan for drains that are discharging into the Ganga. Prioritize
action based on drains with high pollution load, so that impact is immediate.
2. Make a drain-wise plan, which looks to treat waste without first building the internal
conveyance system. Plan for interception and pumping to sewage treatment plant. Plan for in
situ drain treatment, as it will bring down pollution levels of discharge that is not intercepted.
Bottom-line, use the open drain for treatment of waste.
3. Ensure that there is a plan for treated effluents, plan deliberately for utilization or disposal of
treated effluent.
4. Plan the reuse and recycling of treated effluent, either for city water use or agricultural use.
Plan deliberately. Implement this objective.
5. Plan to treat wastewater before it discharges into the river.
6. No untreated waste should be disposed into river. The provision for ecological flow for
assimilation of waste will be critical for setting standards for discharge. If there is no water in the
river, only waste that is discharged, then standards have to be so stringent that they can meet
bathing or even drinking water quality. This will be prohibitively expensive and it makes no
61

economic sense (in a poor country) to clean wastewater to drinking water quality and then not
use it for this purpose.
7. If all this is not acceptable, or does not get operationalized, then the only alternative for river
cleaning is to ask cities to get their water supply downstream of their discharge points. In other
words, they will have to use their wastewater and then invest to clean it to turn it into drinking
water for their citizens.
Otherwise, we must learn that we all live downstream. 3. Accept that there is a need to publicly
fund Ganga cleaning programmes but simultaneously ensure that state and municipal
governments have to contribute either through funds or through release of water for ecological
flow.
Even if the current situation requires Central government assistance for capital and operational
costs, this is not tenable in the long run or for the scale of pollution control infrastructure that is
required to clean the river. As long as states do not have the responsibility to build sewage
treatment systems or to maintain these they have no incentive to plan for affordable solutions or
even to implement projects. In the current system the Central government will pay full capital
cost for infrastructure and even pay for running the plant. There is absolutely no incentive to plan
the water-waste infrastructure for affordability and sustainability.
Action Plan: Build clear conditionality in Central government funding, that it will match
financial support to the quantum of ecological flow released by the state in the river or payment
for capital and operation of infrastructure. As water utilities do not have infrastructure to charge
for operations, build innovative systems for collection of pollution payments at the
city/settlement level.
4. Tighten enforcement of industrial pollution norms. There are no alternatives for this. It is clear
that industries must be able to meet discharge standards that have been legally set in the country.
In UP, records show that almost all industries inspected by the Central Pollution Control Board
in 2013 are in breach of existing standards. It is time for tough action.

Final Verdict
While working on this project we came across the various problems related to the Holy
Ganges. This project helped us in understanding accurately and precisely the adverse
effects and the heavy toll that we have paid for our so called industrial revolution.
As can be gauged from the data presented, the Ganga has been turned into sewage
dumping site and its water has become unsuitable for even bathing, let alone drinking.
The Data collected also goes on to show how Industries have completely neglected their role
in safe guarding and maintaining the purity of the Ganga River which is regarded as the
holiest of the Holy.
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As we progress through the project we realize that the states that are fed by the Ganga
have also not done much for maintaining its purity with UP being one of the major
Culprits as can be seen from the study on Varanasi and Kanpur. The report also shows us
how utterly grim the situation has turned for almost all of our rivers.
We also need to realize that in the name of worship and religion we have forgotten and
failed in our roles to this magnanimous Entity. This project report also intended to work as
an active criticism of the various new industrial plans intended to be setup on the banks of
this dying leviathan. This report is also intended to celebrate and acknowledge the various
schemes and efforts of individuals who are actively working to uphold and protect our
environment.
But all is not dark as there is still hope for this feeder of millions as can be seen from the
partial success of GAP I and the recent 90,000 crore rupee renewed Ganga plan.
The Final Part of this report contains a few recommendations that can be incorporated to
our lifestyles and into the government planning committees that can help save this water
source which will in turn help our own lives blossom
In the end we can only believe in the old saying that its the Darkest just before Sunrise and
we need such a sunrise to rejuvenate this dying river.

References

Sood, Anchal, et al. "Assessment of bacterial indicators and physicochemical parameters

to investigate pollution status of Gangetic river system of Uttarakhand
(India)." Ecological Indicators 8.5 (2008): 709-717.
THOMAS, TARENCE, et al. "Assessment of Water Quality of River Ganga along Ghats
in Varanasi City, UP, India." Assessment 4.04 (2011): 698-711.
Chauhan, Avnish, and Suman Singh. "Evaluation of Ganga water for drinking purpose by
water quality index at Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India." Rep Opin 2.9 (2010): 53-61.
Joshi, Dhirendra Mohan, Alok Kumar, and Namita Agrawal. "Studies on
physicochemical parameters to assess the water quality of river Ganga for drinking
purpose in Haridwar district." Ras J Chem 2 (2009): 195-203.
Roy, Pankaj Kumar, et al. "Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Pollutional Load
in River Ganga in West Bengal Using Statistical Technique."World Applied Sciences
Journal 29.5 (2014): 634-640.
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Tripathi, B. D., M. Sikandar, and Suresh C. Shukla. "Physico-chemical characterization

of city sewage discharged into river Ganga at Varanasi, India."Environment
international 17.5 (1991): 469-478.
Singh, K.P., A. Malik and S. Sinha, 2005. Water quality assessment and apportionment
of pollution statistical techniques- a case study, Analytica which is now a lifeline to
millions of Chimica Acta, 538: 355-374.
Agrawal, D. K, Gaur S. D, Tiwari I. C., Naray Answami N. and Marwah S. M.(1976);
physiochemical characteristic of ganga water at varanasi Indian of environmental
health;18: Pp. 201-206.

Literature:

DOWN TO EARTH
EIA Methodologies by Y. Anjaneyulu
Intro To Environment Text Book

Web Portals:

www.sciencedirect.com
www.cpcb.nic.in
googlescholar.co.in
Wikipedia.org

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