Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Discharge Flood Year Normal Year Drought Year E-Flow, Normal Year E-Flow, Drought E-Flow Concept : WWF, India

Proposed Initial Actionable Items A meeting was held in the MoEF on to discuss the preparation of the Ganga River Basin Management Plan. The list of participants is at Annexure-I. Prof. Vinod Tare, IIT Kanpur made a detailed presentation explaining the process being followed for the development of the plan and the results/ outcomes expected to be achieved. Shri Rajiv Gauba, Joint Secretary, MoEF observed that the Basin Management Plan will be the basis for the action programme of NGRBA. The plan is expected to provide the road map for projects, policy initiatives, institutional framework, legal measures, etc. Though a timeframe of months has been given for completion of the exercise, it had been agreed before the award of work that a series of interim reports will be provided by the consortium of IITs so that the priority activities of the NGRBA can commence at the earliest. Further, the preparation of the plan should involve adequate consultations with all stakeholders. In this regard, a useful beginning has been made with the workshop at IIT, Kanpur on

After detailed discussions, certain broad conclusions were reached. The Basin Management Plan would provide implementable suggestions resulting in the achievement of the following objectives:- (i)Environmental flow is maintained in the river throughout the year, i.e. the concept of ‘Aviral Dhara’ should be realized; (ii)The demand for other uses of water is optimized; (iii)Notwithstanding the increasing utilization of groundwater resources expected in future, depletion of ground water table in the Ganga River Basin is arrested and reversed through planned measures for recharging groundwater; (iv) The ultimate vision should be to realize the goal of ‘Nirmal Dhara’, i.e. unpolluted flow. This would mean that no municipal wastewater or industrial effluent is discharged into the river. This vision/ultimate objective, however, needs to be tempered with practical considerations; Proposed Initial Actionable Items

(v)There is no alternative to treating the entire municipal wastewater in the Ganga Basin. All wastewater should be diverted from the rivers followed by full treatment, i.e. using the best available practices for industrial effluents and up to tertiary levels for sewage. This fits in with the objective of ‘Mission Clean Ganga’ adopted by NGRBA. (vi) Given the constraints of resources, the focus should, in the first phase, be on the main stem of Ganga. After treatment to requisite standards, endeavour should be to maximize the reuse/recycling of wastewater. This can be done by ensuring proper linkages for use of wastewater for irrigation, use in industries, flushing of toilets, air conditioning, etc. The treated water may also be put in surface storage facilities or used for groundwater recharge. It may be easier to set up decentralized wastewater treatment facilities using the concept of recycling of wastewater for flushing of toilets, etc. in new settlements or in recently set up settlements which have adequate open spaces. It may, however, not be a practicable proposition in the old settlements or in the densely populated settlements. Decentralized STPs, requiring double plumbing for use in flushing may be restricted to new settlements as it may not be easy to ensure popular support for expenditure on infrastructure relating to double plumbing. Proposed Initial Actionable Items

It may also not be possible everywhere to ensure the necessary linkages with industrial and agricultural uses. While every endeavour should be made and a rigorous exercise should be undertaken while planning the sewage treatment facilities to maximize reuse/recycling, there may not be an alternative in the short term to treating the entire wastewater to the best possible standards, recycling/reusing it as much as possible and discharging the rest in to the river. (vii) International experiences in the major river basins like Rhine, Danube, Murray Darling, Yangtze, etc. in the treatment of wastewater and its reuse or its discharge back into the river may be thoroughly documented. It is important to draw appropriate lessons from such river basins especially with regard to the treatment of municipal wastewater and effluents and the extent to which it has been possible to reuse and recycle the wastewater. (viii) Industries should be encouraged to adopt zero-discharge standards. (ix)Flood waters must be stored for use in the lean seasons with proper safeguards to protect ecology and control sediment transport in the river. Water storage facilities may include dams in the hills, and barrages, canals, and interconnected kharif channels, ponds, lakes, etc. in the plains. In addition to meeting the irrigation, domestic and industrial needs in the dry season, the water stored in the plains will result in ground water recharge and hence arrest the depletion of groundwater table resulting from exploitation of groundwater resources in the dry season. Proposed Initial Actionable Items

(x)Measures to store storm water in river and away from river. Technology interventions like lining of canals may also be explored. This may be provided where the water table is quite high. Unlined canal is the source for recharging the sub-surface water, where water table is quite low. (xi)No disposal of solid waste of any kind to be permitted on the banks of the rivers or in the rivers itself. No polluting activity such as defecation, washing of clothes, wallowing of animals, etc. or disposal of un-burnt/half burned corpses to be permitted. This is as per the concept of ‘Nirmal Dhara’ or ‘Un-polluted Flow’. This will require giving emphasis to creating proper sanitation facilities along river banks, especially where people congregate in large numbers, creating clean ghats and facilities for cremation maximizing the impact of river water quality, facilities for dealing with the impact of immersion of idols and other religious materials, etc. (xii) The active flood plain boundary of the rivers to be marked clearly. Human activities within the active floodplain boundary to be severely restricted. (xiii) Riverbanks (beyond the active floodplain boundary) to be reclaimed and developed in places where large human settlements exist on the riverbanks. Proposed Initial Actionable Items

(xiv) Enhancement of forestry activities so that surface water runoff is reduced and infiltration of the surface runoff is increased. (xv) The suggestion for constitution of a Standing Expert Committee for scrutiny of master plans and approval of projects to be sanctioned under NGRBA to be examined in view of the recently established system of project approval by independent reputed technical institutions and technical scrutiny systems being put in place under the World Bank Project. 5.Based on the critical activities related to "Mission Clean Ganga", preliminary reports on the following subjects were identified for submission by December 2010: (a)Assessment Report of pollution load (domestic, industrial, non-point sources) in main stem of Ganga. (b)Report on effluent standards to be prescribed for STPs in various stretches on the main stem of Ganga. (c)Report on technology options for sewage treatment plants including innovative and decentralized options. (d)First cut results on the impacts on the water resources development projects (in place, under implementation and proposed) in the Ganga River basin. Proposed Initial Actionable Items

6.Meanwhile, the following activities should be undertaken immediately: (i) The Basin Management Plan should identify the critical stretches on the Ganga river and its tributaries where pollution levels are extremely high. (ii)Diversion of all domestic sewage discharges flowing through sewers/nalas/ drains in these stretches. Appropriate project proposals for this purpose to be formulated and cleared expeditiously. Immediate sanctioning of projects relating to sewage treatment and solid waste management in all Class A and Class B cities of the Ganga River Basin. (iii)In certain stretches where the BOD and DO in the river water are within the permissible limits of the designated standards but faecal coliform exceeding the limit, pro-active measures for sanitation and solid waste management may be given high priority. (iv)Issuance of closure notices to all polluting industries, not limited to industries located in the critical stretches but also including those which critically diminish the assimilative capacity in the downstream. Such industries are required to manage their effluents using the Best Available Technology (BAT) / Best Available Practices (BAP) as per guidelines issued by CPCB. Industries to be encouraged to adopt zero discharge standards. (v)Installation of CETPs to cover small and unorganized industrial units polluting the ground as well as sub-surface water should be undertaken. (vi)Mobilization of general public / NGOs (Ganga panchayat) as watchdogs. Proposed Initial Actionable Items