GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION
RAJYA SABHA
QUESTION NO 1699
ANSWERED ON 08.12.2014
Water quality of Ganga
1699
SHRI HUSAIN DALWAI
Will the Minister of WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION be pleased
to satate :(a) whether the water quality of Ganga at Allahabad and Varanasi is most unfit for bathing as the
biochemical oxygen demand level exceeds 3 mg per litre and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether this is mainly because of untreated sewage from townships entering the river daily;
(c) if so, the magnitude of this untreated sewage flow;
(d) the existing infrastructure to treat this sewage water; and
(e) the details of measures taken to augment capacity of sewage treatment plants or to set up new
plants?
ANSWER
(a) Quality of water for drinking and bathing purposes is determined by various factors which vary from
place to place and season to season.
(b) Population growth, rapid urbanization, industrialization combined with abstraction of water for irrig
ation, industries and other uses lead to increase in pollution load of rivers. Discharge of untreated and
partially treated industrial & municipal wastewater from towns along the rivers constitutes the major
source of pollution in rivers.
(c)&(d) As per CPCB, the sewage generation at Allahabad is about 280 MLD and existing treatment
provision is for only 224 MLD and 56 MLD sewage flow is untreated. At Varanasi the sewage generation
is 320MLD and existing treatment provision is for only 101.8 MLD and 218.2 MLD sewage flow is
untreated.
(e) Further, to augment capacity in Allahabad, 4 STPs of a total capacity of 105 MLD (20 MLD at Naini, 50
MLD at Numaya Dahi, 25 MLD at Kodra & 10 MLD at Ponghat) have been constructed and are presently
under trial. In addition, one STP of 14 MLD capacity at Salori is under construction.
To augment sewage treatment capacity in Varanasi, construction of 2 STPs of a total capacity of 260
MLD (140 MLD at Dinapur under NGRBA programme & 120 MLD at Sathwa under JnNURM) have been
taken up.
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