MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT, FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)
(a ) to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
Statement referred to in reply to parts ( a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No.133 to be answered on Wednesday, the 16th July, 2014 on “Ganga River Basin Management” by Kumari Shobha Karandlaje & Shri Prathap Simha.
(a) to (c) Under National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) programme, a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was signed on 6th July, 2010 between Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and consortium of seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) for preparation of a comprehensive River Basin Management Plan for Ganga (GRBMP). The first phase of the plan was to be completed within 18 months from the date of signing the MoA and the duration of this MoA was for a period of 10 years from the date of its signing.
The main objectives of the plan are to suggest comprehensive measures for restoration of the wholesomeness of the Ganga river system and improving its ecological health taking into account the issue of competing water uses in the river basin. The Plan would take into consideration the requirements of water and energy in the Ganga Basin, to accommodate increased population, urbanization, industrialization and agriculture while ensuring that the fundamental aspects of the river system i.e., (i) river must have longitudinal and lateral connectivity, (ii) river must continuously flow (Aviral Dhaara), (iii) river must have adequate space for its various functions, (iv) river must function as an ecological entity, and (v) river must not be seen as a carrier of waste loads (Nirmal Dhaara), are protected.
(d) So far, an interim report and 36 thematic draft reports have been submitted, which have been circulated to different stakeholders including concerned Ministries and departments for comments/views.
(e) Major recommendations given in the draft reports are:
(i) to adopt the principle of river connectivity with maintenance of scientifically assessed Environmental Flows(E- Flow) of River Ganga and her major tributaries, especially in the context of dams and barrages. Consequently, water allocations for different sectors may need re-evaluation.
(ii) to adopt the concept of “river space” for protection of active floodplain and encroachment.
(iii) to value fresh water at minimum one and half times the cost of recycled treated sewage and industrial wastewater.
(iv) treatment of sewage up to tertiary level for Class I and Class II Towns, and move toward reuse-recycle practice (and disposal of excess tertiary wastewater into rivers or on land).
(v) to introduce concept of internalizing the cost of environmental damages due to disposal of solid and liquid residues from industries and shift towards Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) and reuse/recycle of treated industrial effluents.
(vi) preparation of Urban River Management Plans (URMPs) for Sewage Collection, Diversion, Pumping, Treatment and Reuse and for Riverbank Protection for all Class I and Class II Towns with Technical, Financial and Advisory Support from National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
(vii) to adopt integrated management of aquatic resources instead of managing conventional water resources in isolation or in a piece-meal manner.
(viii) demonstration of setting up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) and Effluent Treatment Plants (ETPs) on Design-Build-Finance-Operate (DBFO) model based on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) approach through NMCG.
(ix) create a comprehensive Ganga River Basin Information and Communication (GBIC) Network related to all aspects of River Ganga with participation of local community.
(x) to make comprehensive efforts to collate existing relevant knowledge and gather more scientific information on subtle/special qualities of Ganga water.
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