Clean Ganga? 29 sewage treatment plants in UP not complying with standards, shows report

As per the report, there were 119 STPs with a sewage treatment capacity of 3,663.4 MLD against the estimated sewage generation of 5,500 MLD in the state—leaving a sewage treatment capacity gap of 1,836.6 MLD.

However, of the 119 STPs in the state, only 111 were operational, shows the report. The report shows that out of the 111 operational STPs in the state, 29 were found “non-complying” with effluent discharge standards notified by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for STPs on October 13, 2017.

As per the environment ministry’s standards, the pH value, which measures how acidic/basic water is, should be 6.5-9.0; BOD (Biochemical oxygen demand), which is a test to identify biological decomposable substances, should be less than 20mg/l; the TSS (Total Suspended Solids), which are the waterborne particles that exceed 2 microns in size, should be less than 50mg/l; and Fecal Coliform (FC) should be less than 1000 MPN (most probable number)/100 ml.

Out of the 29 non-complying STPs, seven were under Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (Rural), while 22 were under the state’s urban development department and other agencies, shows the report, shared by the Uttar Pradesh government to the NMCG on November 21, 2022.

The seven non-complying STPs of UPJN-Rural accounted for a combined sewage treatment capacity of 188.5 MLD and were located along the main stem of river Ganga and its tributaries in different districts, including Kanpur, Hapur, Mathura and Bulandshahr. The remaining 22 non-complying STPs under UDD/others accounted for 343.68 MLD and were located across Firozabad, Chitrakoot, Varanasi, Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Mathura and Greater Noida.

The non-compliance of the STPs in Uttar Pradesh is significant in view of the Centre’s focus on Uttar Pradesh. Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat himself has travelled several times to the state. The first meeting of the National Ganga Council was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2019 at Kanpur. Besides, out of 177 sewerage treatment projects sanctioned under the Namami Gange scheme to date, a maximum of 59 projects have been sanctioned for Uttar Pradesh. Out of the total expenditure of Rs 11,707 crore incurred on sewerage projects under Namami Gange, a maximum of Rs 4,481 crore has been spent in UP.

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