In the seven years since the government unveiled its ambitious ₹20,000 crore National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), it has installed treatment plants capable of treating just 20% of the sewage estimated to be generated in the five major States that lie along the river. This is expected to increase to about 33% by 2024; and according to the latest projections by senior officials in the NMCG, treatment plants will be capable of treating 60% of sewage by December 2026.
These calculations are premised on sewage to the tune of 11,765 million litres per day (MLD) being generated in the five States – Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal – through which the river courses. This figure derives from a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal earlier this year. However, the NMCG plans on setting up sewage treatment plants (STPs) capable of treating about 7,000 MLD of sewage by 2026; States are expected to set up the remaining capacity, both on their own, and drawing on separate initiatives by other arms of the Union government.
“The main objective of the Namami Ganga mission is to ensure that no untreated sewage flows into the river. The estimate of 11,765 MLD is dynamic and also includes sewage that is generated within the State, but which doesn’t necessarily flow into the river. It also isn’t exact and is a projection based on expected population trends,” NMCG director general G. Asok Kumar told The Hindu. “Other States are also working on their own in setting up plants and we work with them. By our projections, if we are able to set up capacity worth 7,000 MLD, it should suffice, for now, to ensure no untreated sewage flows in the main stem of the river.”
