NCCL calls for Sabarmati revival

The National Council for Civil Liberties (NCCL) has submitted a report to Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) calling for immediate action 'to save the revived Sabarmati'.

The report 'Changing Paradigms of Sabarmati Basin' mentions that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has placed the Sabarmati in the 'E' category of polluted river systems, which is considered as the worst category in terms of river health.

Besides, being in 'E' category and in some parts much below 'E', the river water is not potable and hence is not recommended for any use that directly or indirectly influence human health, the report mentions.

It further mentions that the industrial effluents are illegally let by chemical units into storm-water drains, meant to carry only rainwater.

"What is more worrying is that some of it comes from the Pirana Sewerage Treatment Plant of AMC itself," said V K Saxena, president of NCCL.

The plant is meant to handle only domestic sewage and treated waste from industries.

But many chemical units also discharge toxins into the AMC sewage lines. This damages the plant. Worse, it pollutes the river, the report says.

The rural economy of the basin, is predominantly dependant on rainfed agriculture, although greater access to irrigation as a result of groundwater development has led to water intensive irrigated agriculture in many areas.

"Water availability, allocation, use and water quality management is a function of the types of industries in the basin and their geographic distribution," Saxena said.

As the region of Sabarmati basin is conducive for cotton growing, some of the earliest important industries in the basin were textiles and dyes, both of which required good water sources," Saxena added.

"At present, the textile industry still dominates other industries in the basin and accounts for about 75% of the large scale and 50% of the medium scale units.

Next in line is the chemical industry accounting 10-12% of large scale and 15-18% of medium scale units," he said.

The Sabarmati river basin is one of the few classic river basins where all sorts of phenomena associated with water sector like water scarcity, increasing water demand for multiple uses, conflicting demands, inter-sectoral conflicts, inter-sectoral conflicts etc. are occurring, it said.

About the benefits of the project it mentions that 2,000 cusecs water released through the Fatehwadi irrigation canal into the Sabarmati river will be available for about 18,000 hectares of irrigation land.

"As water recharges five French wells operated by the AMC, the city's water scarcity problem will end. Moreover, AMC will save lakhs of rupees that it presently spends on electricity used to run the 406 bore-wells in the city," Saxena said.

"Since malariogenic conditions are closely linked to water stagnation, marsh conditions in agriculture, increased humidity and abuses of water, the revival of Sabarmati would offer very serious challenges to human health in Gujarat," he said.