As per the records, the government has been able to finish only 10 of the 100 sewage infrastructure projects under the Namami Gange mission. Nearly Rs 28,000 crore has been sanctioned for the sewage management work under the mission but only Rs 6,700 crore spent till date. According to a report on the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) website, most of the projects completed under the current government's regime are the ones that were commissioned before the Ganga mission. The incompletion of projects is being reflected in the quality of Ganga river water.
After farmers complained to the Uttar Pradesh pollution control board (UPPCB) about oil being discharged by unidentified factories into the Hindon river, a UPPCB team collected water samples from the river near Momnathal village in Noida, for a probe. Villagers observed oil-like waste enveloping the water flowing through their village and birds and animals dying drinking the water. As per the UPPCB officials, the exact cause of water turning oily and dark will be known only after the investigation reports are out.
As the water crisis worsens in several parts of the city, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) is providing water to citizens through tankers. As per the data of the civic body, more than 19 lakh litre of water is being distributed by the tankers. In a single day, nearly 70 tankers deployed to provide potable water, make about 383 trips to different parts of the city. In order to tap its groundwater resources, the civic body is conducting a massive survey and mapping of tube wells that have been lying defunct. The survey has identified over 250 defunct tube wells in the city.
The ministry’s expert appraisal committee (EAC) has granted environmental clearance to the development of a greenfield international airport in north Goa and approved terms of reference (TOR) to the expansion of a waterfront development plan for Mundra Port by Adani Ports and SEZ Ltd (APSEZ). However, as per the environment experts, green laws have been violated in both the projects. In both cases, there have been incomplete environmental assessments while the existing and potential impacts have been clearly established under these projects.
As per the US-based Health Effects Institute report, around 1.2 million people were killed in India in 2017 due to air pollution. However, the union environment minister Harsh Vardhan has disagreed to the claims. According to him, pollution can cause premature illness and other health effects but not death. He further added that the report has been prepared to create panic. He highlighted that Centre is making several initiatives to tackle air pollution in the country.
This is a roundup of important policy matters from May 1 - 6, 2019. Also, read news this week.