32-fold increase in coliform bacteria: CAG flags untreated sewage discharge into Ganga in Uttarakhand

The performance audit covered 23 of 42 projects carried out during the 2018-23 period, and the operation and maintenance of earlier assets created under the programme. During the evaluation of selected projects, records of the State Mission for Clean Ganga, implementing agencies (Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam, Irrigation Department and Forest Department) and maintenance agencies (Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan, Irrigation and Forest Department) were examined.

The audit found that the quality of sewage treatment by STPs was poor. “Most of the STPs did not comply with the norms of the National Green Tribunal or the Government of India. The water quality up to Devprayag was A category. In Rishikesh, the water quality of the river Ganga remained in the B category from 2019 to 2023, except during the COVID-19 period (2020 and 2021), when it improved to A category. The river water quality in Haridwar remained consistently in the B category throughout the audit period,” the report read.

The A category is a water source fit for drinking without conventional treatment, but after disinfection, and the B category is for water fit for outdoor bathing. The audit also compared 10-year data of total coliform at Har-ki-Pauri, Haridwar, and Devprayag. It shows that the level of total coliform increased 32-fold (as of October 2023) between Devprayag and Haridwar (a distance of 93 km). A major reason for coliform bacteria to increase in a river is the release of untreated sewage.

The audit further said that the Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board was not able to get accreditation from the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories for its laboratory, which monitors the water quality of the river Ganga and effluents discharged from the STPs.

“The monitoring of the online continuous effluent monitoring system was inadequate for several reasons, like manual data entry of parameters is permitted on the Ganga Tarang Portal, which raises concerns about data accuracy. Additionally, the Ganga Tarang Portal is not accessible to the public, limiting transparency,” it said. The report further found negligence in the tendering process, and that the implementing agency relaxed the faecal coliform of zero MPN (most probable number) per 100 ml to 100 MPN per 100 ml.

Other findings in the audit include how, despite provisions in the National Mission for Clean Ganga Authority Order (2016), District Ganga Committees did not prepare district-level river basin management plans in any of the districts (Uttarkashi, Tehri, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pauri, Dehradun and Haridwar) through which the Ganga and its tributaries flow.

The state government responded to the audit, saying that a comprehensive district Ganga plan had been prepared for the district Udham Singh Nagar. However, the reply was not deemed acceptable as Udham Singh Nagar district does not have any Ganga Front Town in it.

The audit also revealed that the state government did not allocate funds for enhancing supplemental sewerage facilities in Ganga Front Towns. During 2018-23, the state government spent Rs 55.08 crore on creating sanitation infrastructure under the State Sector Scheme for Sewage Development. However, no amount was spent in the Ganga Front Towns.

The audit noted that 21 STPs built in seven towns were not connected to any households, rendering them symbolic in nature. While carrying out joint physical inspections of 37 Namami Gange STPs, the team noticed that 12 STPs were discharging untreated sewage into the Ganga and its tributaries because of insufficient treating capacity and ineffective tapping of drains.

The progress left much to be desired. “Due to APOs and financial progress being meagre in comparison to the planned expenditure, physical targets were affected very badly. Physical progress under natural landscape, agricultural landscape, urban landscape and conservation interventions could be achieved only 34%, 9%, 6% and 14% of the planned targets,” it said.