In Search of a Living River:
Let us traverse through Tamil Nadu
S.Janakarajan
Madras Institute of Development Studies
Chennai 600 020
janak@mids.ac.in
Presentation made at the
India International Center
New Delhi
7th Dec 2011
A brief introduction:
Rivers in India have carried the political, economic
and social history of our country
Today water resources in India are under great
threat due to indiscriminate use, scarcity and
pollution.
This not only undermines the resource base but
poses a severe threat to the very foundations of our
society, culture and community’s sustenance. This
is the context in which I shall discuss the dying or
dead rivers of Tamil Nadu
Situation
The problem of water pollution poses a great threat to basic human living.
The ramification of pollution is indeed more severe in the less developed countries that
are afflicted with chronic problems of
•political instability
•lack of political will
•high level of illiteracy
•unceasing poverty
•increasing degree of urbanization
•rapid Industrialization
•lack of basic needs and basic infrastructure
•high illiteracy and low level of awareness
•women subordination
•high degree of corruption at all levels
•poor health care and poor social security system
•high population density with poor rural and urban infrastructure
•Most importantly, the looming climate change threat and its impact on water
resources, agriculture and food security etc
THE GROWING MENACE OF RIVER POLLUTION NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IN
THIS CONTEXT
Problems with existing approach of data collection and
dissemination
Collect information on visible data very selectively - Such as all land details, rainfall,
crop details, water, surface and GW, income and consumer expenditure, assets and
liabilities, livestock etc
There are certain data which are never given importance:
Information relating to
Pollution of river basins,
Pollution levels of surface and groundwater
Solid waste, Bio-medical waste, urban sewage, e-waste generation
Floods and droughts – socio-economic losses - expenses incurred by way mitigation
Can we neglect invisible data?
Andhra Pradesh
4
3
Karnataka
2
10
1
9
8
5
Kerala
Major river basins of
Tamil Nadu
6
7
Bay of Bengal
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Cauvery
Ponnayar
Palar
Kosathalayar
Vaipar & Gundar
Thamaraparani
Nambiar
Vaigai
Vellar & Manimuthar
Noyyal
Map of the Palar basin
Palar
Total
Catchment
area17,871
Sq km
Originates
from
Nandhi
hills near
Kolar Dist
in
Karnataka
Total
lenngth
340
KM –
In TN it
travels
a
distance
of 240
km
Karnataka
, Andhra
Pradesh
Tamil
Nadu
Some facts about the Palar basin
Palar basin is considered the second rice bowl of the State next to
Thanjavur, irrigated by tanks and wells (now both the rice bowls have
been disfigured)
Highly urbanized with flourishing rural-urban water market
Very high concentration of tanneries; 75% of the tanneries in the State
are concentrated in this basin, contributing to 30% of total leather exports
of the country, earning Rs.50 billion towards forex
Tanneries are highly water intensive and polluting industries, generating
about 38 mld of effluent with high TDS and chromium and some traces of
cyanide
Agriculture is very badly affected, decreased yield, abandoned wells,
polluted surface and groundwater, acute drinking water problems, serious
health problems, rapid decrease in ag. Employment and thousands of
people have already left their villages
Extent of pollutants generation in two major tannery centers of the Palar basin
Parameter
Total pollution in
Ranipet
(KG/D)
Total pollution load in
Vaniyambadi (KG/D)
TSS
26,635 – 51,980
17,707 – 27,135
TDS
92,465 – 198,246
82,409 – 121,103
BODS
13,734 – 30,292
7,293 – 15,565
COD
37,054 – 78,479
17,474 – 34,433
SULPHIDE
175 – 771
125 – 269
TOTAL CHROMIUM
859 - 3163
1,085 – 2,321
Source: Economic Analysis of Environmental Problems in Tanneries and Suggestions for
Policy Action, a study supported by UNDP, Madras School of Economics, 1998
Yield of paddy in the affected and unaffected villages of the Palar basin, 1999
Villages
No.
GIA under
of
wells paddy by
reporting
wells
(acres)
GIA under
paddy per
well
(acres)
Total
Production
of paddy in
KGs
Yield per
acre
of
GIA under
well
in
KGs
Yield
of
paddy per
well
in
KGs
Affected
villages
(aggregate
informatio
n for four
Villages)
56
57.34
1.02
35206
614
628
Unaffected
villages
(aggregate
informatio
n for four
Villages)
119
456.24
3.83
847,125
1857
7118
Source: Janakarajan, S, 2006
Mitigation and regulatory measures in the Palar basin
Public interest litigation and Supreme Court’s intervention through what is
regarded as historic judgment
Comprehensive failure of CETP
TNPCB and its role – lack of effective monitoring and law enforcement
mechanism
Palar river basin: A spring channel being used by the tanneries for discharging their deadly
effluent: Find at the background the beautiful temple renovated to which `generous’
contributions came from tannery owners. Village:Gudimallur near Walajapet
Palar river basin: A overflowing spring channel in Vanninedu village with full of stinking and
poisonous tannery effluent: A dying tradition due to the socalled modernity - Agricultural land
and groundwater have been polluted heavily besides losing an age old spring channel.
Palar river basin: A spring channel in Vannivedu village flowing colourfully with
tannery effluent. A dying tradition!!
Palar river basin: Palar Anicut / Weir with stains of tannery pollutants.
Palar river basin: The Palar river getting poisoned due to effluent discharge
from the tanneries : A sad story
Palar river basin: Spring channels that
pass through many villages carry the
effluent load ultimately to the river
Palar river basin: An un-used irrigation tank due to tannery pollution in
Gudimallur village
Palar river basin: Dying soil, dying crops, dying animals with impoverished woman - in the
midst of perverted industrial expansion at the background: Village - Vannivedu
Palar river basin: An agricultural well with full of polluted water with no traces of
cultivation around - the contribution of tanneries
Palar river basin: A
abandoned well with full of
tannery pollutants
Palar river basin: An abandoned / polluted well : Village : Solur
Water quality of groundwater in the selected areas of the Palar basin
Serial
number of
well stations
Name of the well stations
Average value
during premonsoon
(January-June)
Average value
during monsoon
(July-December)
EC
TDS
EC
TDS
1
Vaniyambadi
9740
5490
10978
6178
2
Valayampattu
13562
7471
12445
6762
3
Solur
15635
8712
13142
7387
4
Venkatasamudram
15650
8689
14357
7895
5
Periavarigam
17607
9867
17323
9698
6
Chinnavarigam
4807
2667
4933
2768
7
Ranipet
12825
7226
10140
5734
8
Vannivedu
4183
2372
3973
2297
Source: Central Pollution Control Board, 1991, Water quality data compiled from
the monitoring wells in the Palar basin
PALAR ON TOP OF THE WORLD
The Blacksmith Institute of New York has identified the ten
most polluted rivers in the World in 1996
The Palar river got the rare distinction of earning a third place
The criteria used for such identification are the following
• The size of the affected population (over 3.5 million)
• Severity of the toxin or toxins involved
• Impact of children’s health and development
• Evidence of a clear pathway of contamination
• Existing and reliable evidence of health impact
Source: World’s Worst Polluted Rivers: The Worst Ten, Blacksmith
Institute, New York, Sep 1996, WWW.BLACKSMITHINSTITUTE.ORG
Cauvery – the Inter state river
The mainstay of Tamil Nadu and regarded as its
granary
Main tributaries in Tamil Nadu
Bhavani – tanneries, dyeing and bleaching, chemicals, Municipal waste
Amaravathi – Textiles, dyeing and bleaching, paper, sugar, Municipal waste
Kalingarayan Canal - Tanneries, dyeing and bleaching
Noyyal – Dyeing and bleaching, Municipal waste
Kodaganaru – Tanneries, Municipal waste
Cauvery main river – Takes the entire load (from
industries and urban waste) and takes further load as it
travels further down
CAUVERY – BASIC DETAILS
The Cauvery rises at Talakaveri on the Brahmagiri Range of Hill in the Western
Ghats, presently in the Coorg district of the State of Karnataka, at an elevation of
4,400 ft.above mean sea level. The catchment area of entire Cauvery Basin is
81,155-sq. km.
NAME OF THE
BASIN STATE
Karnataka
Kerala
Tamil nadu
Karaikkal region of
Pondicherry
Total
CATCHMENT AREA
IN SQ.KMS.
34,273
2,866
43,868
148
81,155
Cauvery near Mettur – severely polluted due to the concentration of
More chemical and PVC industry – Chemplast is one of the companies
which discharges 26 chemicals into the river through its effluent as found
by an independent study
Some basic details about the Noyyal basin
Noyyal is a tributary of the river cauvery;
The region which constitutes this river basin is traditionally a dry tract,
which depended entirely on GW for all purposes;
Over the years, there has been a secular lowering of water table, resulting
in GW depletion in many parts;
This region (Tiruppur town and its suburbs) has entered into the global
map for its concentration of knit-wear industries; There are over 3000
knitting mills and over 800 dyeing and bleaching industries in this region;
A very high concentration of dyeing and bleaching units in this region not
only consumes a huge quantity of fresh GW but also discharges them
back into the Noyyal river;
The estimated quantity of water consumed by these units is about 100
million liters per day.
The Noyyal river looks pathetic with effluent flowing in it all through year;
The threat posed by this dam can be illustrated by what
has happened in Feb’1997:
The O’dam constructed across the Noyyal river was overflowing with effluent
endangering quite a number of villages around;
Eventually, at the time when there was no appreciable flow in the Cauvery
river, the PWD opened the gates of the O’dam to let the polluted water flow
down without any prior warning to the public;
The effect was devastating: considerable damage occurred to crops,
animals, soils and GW; several hundred animals collapsed after drinking this
water; several petitions were filed in the Court claming for compensation;
Result - nil.
The severity of the situation was such that Government was forced to
release 20,000 cusecs of water from Mettur with a view to reduce the
pollution load in the cauvery even though it was a dry period.
One of the streams carrying effluent in the Orathapalayam dam constructed
across the Noyyal river
Noyyal river basin: A view of the polluted Orathapalayam dam which stores nothing
but the effluent discharged by hundreds of dying and bleaching units in and around
Tiruppur
Noyyal river basin: A small stream with colourful flow of effluent - poisoning the
neighbourhood - both land groundwater
Noyyal river basin: Yet another view of the damned Orarthapalayam dam
Noyyal river basin: Young girls washing and bathing in the Orathapalayam
dam’s polluted water: Not aware of the danger!!
Chennai water ways
Cooum river
Adyar river
Buckingham canal
Once cleaner water ways – now carries sewage and industrial
effluent
Chennai waterways cleaning moves have been a gross failure
although over 1000 crores of rupees have been spent so far
There are reported to be about 750 sewage and effluent
outfalls into these waterways carrying over 700 mld of waste
water - untreated – finally mixing with Bay of Bengal
The River Cooum, once a fresh water source is today a drainage course
collecting surpluses of 75 small tanks of a minor basin. The length of the river is
about 65 km, of which 18 km, fall within the Chennai city limits. This once
fishing river & boat racing ground has borne the brunt of the city's unplanned
explosion
Cooum river in a dry season full of polluted water discharged by
Chennai water Board (from ETP) and by a large number of industries -About 30 per cent of the untreated sewage gets into the Cooum river
Section of
the Canal
near RA
Puram with
MRTS –
narrowed
the canal to
< 50
meters –
carries at
the moment
nothing but
sewage
The Buckingham Canal is a 422 KM long freshwater navigation canal running
parallel to the Coromandal coast of South India from Vijayawada in AP to
Chidambaram in TN. The canal connects most of the natural backwaters along the
coast. It was constructed during the British period (started in 1806) and was
considered an important waterway during the late nineteenth and the twentieth
century.
It is believed to be partly responsible for reducing the recent tsunami shock in
Chennai.
Get an idea on the width of the Buckingham canal - 2005
Cooum river in 1925
Cleaning of the Cooum river under way
recently, THE HINDU SEP 29, 2011
Buckingham Canal is the most polluted
of the three major waterways in the city
with nearly 60 per cent of the estimated
55 million litres of untreated sewage
being let into it daily, including by
Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and
Sewerage Board.
Adyar river which originates from the Chembarambakkam Lake in Kancheepuram, is one
of the rivers which passes through Chennai,and joins the Bay of Bengal.
Adyar river at the mouth
where it joins the Bay of
Bengal
Adyar river with full of municipal
sewage and effluent discharged by
industries
Adyar river as a flood carrier of Chennai
Paramete
r
Madras
Palar
Pannier
Vellar
Cauvery
Vaigai
Vaippar
Tambraparani
TSS
120446
29938
9339
32111
61402
15579
6382
20042
TDS
815245
400302
80059
130348
472357
126527
63813
145761
Chloride
192050
101434
18467
36712
116196
31173
14870
38255
Sulphide
15674
3818
1462
4636
9160
3033
1375
2018
Ammoni
aCal
Nitrogen
15461
3034
1906
2593
8163
1953
1422
2167
Phenol
131
383
4
5
119
29
3
10
Oil &
Grease
4059
670
527
737
2660
584
378
818
BOD
51496
23496
7525
13775
38574
12303
5380
7316
COD
182189
70990
23511
41667
127346
37293
16926
27908
Copper
32
4
1
Na
78
Na
Na
1
Zinc
5072
465
502
807
2623
481
354
682
Total
Chromiu
m
643
474
23
152
210
51
12
149
Nickel
102
93
24
5
116
7
Na
Na
Cyanide
19
22
4
2
15
3
Na
Na
Estimated
industrial
pollutant
loadings
discharged
into major
rivers in
Tamilnadu ,
Kilograms
per day
Source: Asian Development Bank, Tamilnadu Environmental Monitoring and Pollution Control, Final Report,
Volume-II, June 1994
Details regarding CETPs located in various parts of the State
Name of the Type
river basin
industries
of Number of
CETPs
Number of
beneficiary
units
Quantity
of
Effluent
(in kld)
Cost of the
Project
(Rs.
in
million)
Palar
Tannery
22
847
37,458
614
Noyyal
Dyeing
and bleaching
8
300
42,350
279
Bhavani
Dyeing
and bleaching
4
545
2839
70
Amaravathi
Dyeing
and bleaching
8
548
14,100
166
Others
Dyeing,
14
bleaching,
tannery, hotels
and hospitals
576
14,368
201
Source: Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, 1994
Some questions which seek answers from all of us
Is it impossible to sustain industrialization and urbanization development
without compromising with our rivers and water resources?
On the contrary to what the neo-classical economists argue, why does the
market turns out to be a mute spectator – contributing to more and more
environmental and ecological damages rather than cleaning up the mess
We can’t bear if the ecology back fires!! Should we wait until such time?
What are the ways forward?
The role Pollution Control Boards
The role laws
Is PIL a solution?
If none of these work, what is the way out? Is there a deadlock?
Or it the curse of the democracy such as the which we have in India?
OR CAN WE RENOGOTIATE OUR DEMOCTRACY?
IF YES, WHAT ARE THE WAYS?
Thank you