Lucknow: In a fresh report, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has blamed Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board for not taking any action against defaulters like municipal authorities and industries for the poor quality of water caused by polluted rivers. The National Green Tribunal (NGT), in February, had ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe against the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam after it found irregularities in maintaining cleanliness levels of Ganga. Four months later, on May 5, the NGT pulled up the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) for the same reason. UPPCB monitors the pollution level in rivers and water bodies of the state by collecting samples once every month and the audit analysed the reports of 12 major rivers and six water bodies.
The report for 2015-16 that was laid out in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly pointed out that water quality of major rivers and water bodies in Uttar Pradesh is not as per the norms. The report listed out inadequate sewage and industrial effluent treatment facilities as major reasons for river’s poor quality. The audit also found that the water quality in the river was not healthy.
The BOD (bio-chemical oxygen demand) level and total coliform (a kind of bacteria found in human and animal excreta) are above the prescribed standard in 12 major rivers (like Kali and Hindon) and six water bodies for the years 2013-15, the report further said. High levels of BOD and coliform in water indicates presence of sewage and other discharges in the water and also presence of harmful disease causing organisms.
The report added that the major source of pollution in the Ganga river was discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage, open drains carrying sewage and industrial waste. The water quality of Gomti was also not within the prescribed standards and the main reason for pollution in the river was sewage generation in Lucknow being much higher than the total capacity of the two STPs (sewage treatment plants), the report pointed out.
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With inputs from PTI
