A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India has said that the Centre’s ‘Namami Gange’ programme has not achieved the expected results in Uttarakhand. The report attributes the shortcomings mainly to the failure of state implementing agencies.
The report states that under the flagship programme, launched more than a decade ago to clean the Ganga river, the Union government provided around Rs 1,000 crore between 2018 and 2023, which is the audit period, for effective implementation of the project in the state. However, the report, which was presented during the ongoing budget session of the Uttarakhand Assembly, highlights several irregularities in the project.
These include faulty designs of sewage treatment plants (STPs), poor maintenance of infrastructure, failure to tap drains flowing into the Ganga, and dumping of waste near rivers and smaller streams.
The CAG noted that the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Forestry Interventions for the Ganga (FIG) included a budget provision of Rs 885.91 crore and set a plantation target of 54,855.43 hectares. However, the report noted that only Rs 144.27 crore, which is about 16 per cent of the allocated funds, was actually utilised. As a result, the physical progress of the project remained slow and the scheme failed to achieve its objective of rejuvenating the Ganga.
Out of 44 STPs inspected by the CAG in 2023, only three to five plants were found to comply with the norms set by the National Green Tribunal. Similarly, only six to twelve STPs were found to be complying with the standards set by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and other regulatory requirements.
The report said this clearly shows widespread non-compliance and a poor standard of sewage treatment across many facilities. Among the 44 STPs inspected, most showed serious violations of the norms set by both the MoEF and the NGT during all three quarters of 2023. The levels of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Faecal Coliform were found to be much higher than the permissible limits.
The report also pointed out that in Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri and Uttarkashi districts, cremation ghats were constructed at 11 locations without assessing local requirements or cultural practices. As a result, these facilities remain unused and poorly maintained, while traditional funeral pyres continue to be lit along the riverbanks.
As per the report, in 2011 the then State River Conservation Authority had set a target to stop untreated urban sewage and industrial waste from entering the Ganga by 2020. However, even after 13 years, state government officials have failed to prepare a proper plan to achieve this target.
The report further stated that District Ganga Plans were not prepared in any of the districts located in the Ganga basin. This has resulted in poor management of sewage-related problems and failure to achieve the targets set for 2020.
The report also noted that one of the main goals of the Namami Gange programme was to involve local communities in planning sustainable infrastructure. However, the audit found that state officials and implementing agencies failed to properly involve local residents. This led to improper use of several sewage infrastructure projects.
The report noted that although the state government is responsible for sanitation in towns located along the Ganga river, it did not allocate funds from its own resources for sewage infrastructure in these areas.
The state government neither constructed adequate STPs nor provided sewer connections to households. In addition, projects funded by the German Development Bank (KfW) were limited only to Haridwar and Rishikesh.
The report stated that not a single household was connected to 21 STPs built in seven cities located along the Ganga. These included two STPs in Nandprayag, five in Karnaprayag, six in Rudraprayag, two in Kirtinagar, one in Chamoli, three each in Srinagar and Shrikot, and two in Joshimath.
The audit also found that household sewage connectivity remained incomplete in many towns. The connectivity rate was 69 per cent in Haridwar, 29 per cent in Rishikesh, 12 per cent in Srinagar, 9 per cent in Uttarkashi and 6 per cent in Chamoli. The main reasons cited for this situation were a shortage of sewer lines and insufficient sewage treatment capacity.
In addition, the STPs in Haridwar and Rishikesh are facing the problem of overloading, meaning they receive sewage volumes that exceed their designed treatment capacity.
On the other hand, STPs in Devprayag and Joshimath are operating far below their capacity because they receive very little sewage inflow. Due to these issues, the intended objective of these STPs has been largely defeated.
During the audit, it was also found that 12 STPs located in Dhallwala (Rishikesh), Kirtinagar, Rudraprayag, Shrikot, Gopeshwar and Karnaprayag were discharging untreated sewage directly into the Ganga.
The report further revealed that eight STPs have been operating for more than four years without valid consent or authorisation from the Pollution Control Board. According to the report, this violates environmental regulations and also poses serious environmental risks.
Even several years after construction, 18 STPs have still not been handed over by the construction agency, Uttarakhand Peyjal Nigam, to the designated maintenance agency, Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan.
The report also pointed out that due to the failure to conduct mandatory safety audits, as required by regulations, a 75-kilolitre capacity STP in Rudraprayag was destroyed by a landslide in 2021, causing a financial loss of about Rs 88 lakh.
The report also referred to a major accident at the Chamoli STP in 2023, where 28 people suffered electric shocks and 16 of them died, highlighting serious safety lapses in the project.
Also read: ₹1,000-cr for Haridwar Kumbh in state budget
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