Sunday, July 17, 2016

Namami Gange: A Possible Water Panacea for the Northern Region States

Mission rationale and background


The Ganga river basin, for long, has been important for the country, owing to its cultural significance and the economic implications of its coverage as it supports about 43 per cent of the Indian population.[1] However, the river basin today stands heavily polluted due to the discharge of untreated industrial and domestic waste. The underutilisation of urban wastewater and the lack of efficient sewerage networks have only contributed to the problem. For instance, the CPCB estimates that the 144 drains along the main stem of the river discharge more than 6000 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage/sullage with industrial effluents. As per estimates of the MoWR, a sewage treatment capacity of about 7300 MLD is required whereas the currently, it is a mere 3300 MLD (2100 MLD created and 1200 MLD under creation).[2]





The image to the left shows Sisamau Nala, Kanpur’s largest and most-polluted open drain, discharging waste into the Ganga. The image to the right is of a polluted stretch of the Ganga, between Allahabad and Varanasi. Photo sources: www.downtoearth.org.in and www.livemint.com
Even within the existing 2100 MLD of sewage treatment capacity which is only 28% of the requirement, several plants are not utilized fully, are outdated and need to be renovated, modernized and maintained properly.  In the major cities of the north India along the river basin, situation is no different as far as sanitation woes are concerned.  For instance in Delhi, the sewerage network has lacked maintenance leading to overflow of raw sewage in open drains, due to blockage, settlements and inadequate pumping capacities. The sewage treatment capacities in key north Indian cities along the basin is thus far from being efficient both in terms of capacity and maintenance. Moreover, considering the rapid urbanization in these cities in the coming years, the capacity addition plans in progress also might not be sufficient. The following table highlights the sewage treatment capacities in the major cities along the Ganga basin in North India.


City
Sewage Generation (MLD)
Sewage Treatment Capacity (MLD)
Sewage Treatment Capacity (% of total sewage generated)
Haridwar
39.6
18
45%
New Delhi
3800
2330
61%
Kanpur
339
171.1
50%
Allahabad
208
89
43%
Varanasi
187.1
141
75%
Sewage generation and treatment capacities of major cities along the Ganga basin (2013); source: http://cpcb.nic.in/


Thus, the Namami Gange programme, for the revitalisation of the largest river basin of India, holds vital implications for the northern region. It addresses the urgent need for an Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) approach at river-basin level, to promote coordinated management of water resources and equitable access without compromising the sustainability of ecosystems. With sub-areas including sustainable municipal sewage management, managing of sewage from rural areas, industrial discharge and others, the flagship initiative of the Indian government has the potential of going a long way in addressing the water crises in the region.

Mission features and current status


With an outlay of INR 20,000 crores for a period of 5 years (2014-15 to 2019-20)[3], Namami Gange envisions to accomplish the mandate of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). Implementation has been divided into entry-level activities (for immediate impact) and medium term activities, to be implemented in the direction of achieving the long-term objectives (refer to the Figure 1 for an overview of the programme).
                                                                                                                              
The funding mechanism has been reinvented, owing to the observation that investments made under past programmes (Ganga Action Plan I & II, NGRBA, Yamuna Action Plan) were far from optimal. The Union Cabinet approved the Hybrid Annuity based Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for the mission with an aim to reform India’s wastewater sector and infuse efficiency, viability and sustainability. Under the model, the government will provide 40 per cent of the project cost during the construction period and the release of funds is linked to the progress of construction. The rest of the investments will have to be raised from private sources in the form of equities and loans. The overall equity burden on private bidders would thus be less and so would the loan requirement in comparison to the other modes of PPP, making banks potentially more comfortable. The loans would be paid back by the government in instalments during the contract period, based on the performance of the private player and the asset. The model envisages the infrastructure and O&M investments, to be shared between the Centre and the States on a 70:30 basis respectively. The state governments have been further instructed to strategise resource recovery through their Urban Local Bodies (ULB’s).[4]

Keeping in view the need for scalability, a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) is to be established to plan, structure and procure, along with monitoring implementation of the PPP projects. The SPV would enter into MoA’s with participating State Governments and respective ULBs for taking up individual projects. Additionally, MoU’s with various ministries, such as the already-underway MoU with Ministry of Railways for purchase of treated water from STPs to facilitate faster market development for treated wastewater, are to be undertaken.[5]

Challenges and need for innovation


The mission along with sanitising the river basin, calls for efficient waste management infrastructure such as bio-digestor toilets, bathing facilities, along with sewerage treatment plants and networks. The mission has crucial economic, social and environmental implications. Thus, its mandates include livelihood generation models, health programmes and community engagement programmes for populations living along the banks.

While momentous, the initiative has its share of challenges to meet. The scale of the waste water being discharged into the basin every day requires a joint approach of river conservation and urban waste management, and likewise, substantial investments and collaborative efforts of the state governments. However, while open to private individual and organisational funding, data from the corporate affairs ministry shows private funding received for Namami Gange in 2014-15 to be the least among the government’s flagship programmes.[6] The selection of the appropriate private partners for the implementation and operation & maintenance of the projects will be a key success factor for the initiative.

The end-to-end implementation of the initiative’s projects needs to be swift and efficient considering the time frame and the progress achieved till date. The following key interventions if brought in during the implementation phase of the projects could lead to improved efficiency and effective implementation:
§  Thorough technical assessments need to be done to identify specific technological interventions required while earmarking the capital costs for each plant
§  Additionally, efficient project management calls for cost and time benchmarks, and a rigorous monitoring framework
§  Assessment of real-time operational parameters of the treatment plant and quality parameters of the treated water through usage of data analytics are imperative for the mission’s success
§  The sewage treatment plants (STP’s) must combine aspects of IT, data analytics, smart energy management, smart water treatment, grey water treatment to collect, treat and suitably redeploy treated water
§  Possibility of integrating STPs with simulation software to predict effluent quality in real time and manage quality risks throughout its lifecycle
§  New STPS should be equipped to handle both storm water along with normal sewage






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