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Cleaning up India's rivers by hybrid PPP in sewage treatment

Drug Today Medical Times

For taking action to clean up the rivers in India, there has been a high decibel debate regarding sewage treatment plants (STPs). The idea became clear when the Central government gave the Supreme Court an 18-year plan to clean up the rivers of the country. One worrying aspect of the plan is that it seems strikingly similar to the plans that have been tried earlier. Such as preparing STPs, building crematoriums, and then cleaning up the ghats and riverfronts.

The latest move to innovatively shore up funding for sewage treatment plants at various places across the country, to begin with, needs to be wholeheartedly welcomed. The simple fact is that the vast bulk of sewage flowing from our towns and cities is just released untreated into rivers and water bodies. And we clearly need well-structured finance to boost resource allocation, and ensure performance, efficiency and sustainability in sewage treatment.

The STPs  at various places across the country would be as per the so-called hybrid annuity public-private partnership (PPP) model, which has garnered significant funds for highway projects in the last three years or so. The way ahead is to float a special purpose vehicle under the Companies Act for each project, so as to enable transparency in governance, functional autonomy and, most importantly, the levy of reasonable user charges for effluent treatment, as per the polluter-pays principle.

There is vast scope to replicate the hybrid PPP model for sewage treatment all along the rivers of India. The plants would provide relatively risk-free returns over the long term, and so should be attractive to sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and other investors. The way forward is to have hybrid PPP in place for solid waste management in our large urban centres. In fast urbanising India, PPP for sewage and solid waste treatment is an idea whose time has come.

Under the Integrated Ganga River Conservation Mission, National Mission for Clean Ganga has sanctioned 87 projects worth Rs 12,684 crore for the development of 1,433 MLD sewage treatment infrastructure.

Namami Ganga Programme, in collaboration with the state government of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh has successfully designed and bid out the first two hybrid annuity projects in the cities of Haridwar and Varanasi.

The hybrid annuity PPP programme is now being rolled out in Mathura, Allahabad, Kanpur, Patna and Kolkata. The programme endeavours to integrate the existing/brown field sewage treatment infrastructure in these towns with the new Greenfield sewage treatment plants.

Besides establishing the sewage treatment plants, the contract is for their operation and maintenance for a period of 15 years. Subsequently, they will be handed over to the local bodies concerned. The model will serve as the template for similar projects all over the country.

While discussing the cleaning of the Yamuna some years ago, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) found that Delhi generated 2,500 million litres (mld) of sewage every day—that the DJB and CPCB have such divergent numbers tells its own story— as compared to the sewage treatment plant (STP) capacity of 2,330 mld.

Worse, just 35% of the STPs ran at full capacity, 18% ran at 60-90%, 24% at 30-60% and 23% at under 30%—where there were STPs, there was no waste and where there was waste, there was no STP.

One more face of dirty rivers is Ganga. As much as 43 per cent population of the country depends on it. About 3036 million liters per day (MLD) sewage is generated from 118 towns located in the main stream of Ganga. Only 50 per cent of the sewage is treated. The experts expect that the total sewage generated by 2035 would be 3719 MLD. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many poorer people rely on the river on a daily basis for bathing, washing, and cooking.

As per CPCB, 30 per cent of the STPs monitored in UP, Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal are not operational and 94 per cent do not comply with the prescribed effluent standards.

But the question is that when our rivers will be cleaned up and can the government meet its targets?

A lot will depend on how soon the STPs are commissioned. On average, they will take about a year-and-a-half to work at their optimal capacity. The tanneries, a major polluter, will have to install new systems to ensure that no discharge leaches into the river. Given that several employ techniques that have not been tried on a large scale in Indian rivers, it is unclear how soon they will deliver results.

Moreover, a clean river also implies that it maintains minimum levels — called ecological flows — across all stretches of the river. This requires management on a larger scale, including controlling the several dams along the river that bring with them their own challenges.

IFAT India 2017: Solutions to environmental challenges

Drug Today Medical Times

Mumbai, October 10, 2017: IFAT India 2017 was held at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre, Goregaon from 26th to 28th September 2017 that brought together local and international representatives from associations and, state governments, industry leaders and leading companies to highlight and discuss challenges and solutions in the water, sewage, refuse and recycling sector.

IFAT India 2017 was inaugurated by Shri Vijay Shivtare, Water Minister of Maharashtra, Mr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Ms Ann Ollestad, Consul General, The Royal Norwegian Embassy, Ms. Ulrika Sundberg, Sweden Consul General, Mr. Roland Knitschky, German Association for Water, Wastewater and Waste (DWA) among other industry players.

IFAT India is India's leading trade fair for water, waste water, waste and recycling. The trade show provided an enormous platform to industry experts, policy makers and business leaders to discuss regional strategies on numerous environmental challenges and seek solutions through formal interactions.

IFAT India 2017 was a three- day trade show which saw over 184 participants from 18 countries. Some of the top participants included market leaders like L&T, Thermax, Ion Exchange, Ramky, Aqseptance Group, Endress+Hauser, Excel, Kirloskar Brothers, Kishor Pumps, Tata Projects, Wilo, Siemens, Lanxess, Astral Poly, Xylem, CRI Pumps, LG Chem, Wipro Water and many more. China, Germany, Austria and Switzerland were the few international country pavilions that were featured in the 2017 edition.

On the conclusion of IFAT India 2017, Mr. Bhupinder Singh, CEO of Messe Muenchen India, said, “India has an immense potential for environmental protection and waste management. Scarce water resources, rapid industrialization, extensive agriculture and enormous waste volumes pose a great challenge to the country. Thus, the 5th edition of IFAT India focussed on the latest environmental issues and their solutions. IFAT India 2017 also provided a platform for all the industry players, associations and government representatives, to connect through formal interactions. We saw a great response from national and international participants and we hope to keep delivering a better trade show every year.”

The trade fair witnessed technical presentations, panel discussions and tutorials, where industry experts – both from India and overseas –who shared their knowledge with the audience at the Innovation Exchange. There was also a dedicated area for training, live demonstrations, product presentations and skills contests, running parallel to the show.

The Products in Practice session provided exhibitors with a unique interactive way to showcase their product highlights. The innovations were presented in a realistic working situation and thereby impressed the visitors with an eye-catching experience.

The Active Learning Centre was a new platform successfully introduced to the participants of IFAT India 2016 that was continued in 2017. This was the interactive element of the event. It offered innovative ways to network with both visitors and other experts of the environmental technologies sector.

Along with the trade exhibition IFAT INDIA with its partners concurrently organized multiple interactive programs, to name a few - Air Quality Management Workshop by SDG (Sustainable Development Goals Foundation); Workshop on entrepreneurship in waste management by ISWA (International Solid Waste Association); Biogas Panel by GIZ, German Biogas Association and Indian Biogas Association; Water Skills Competition by Skill Council for Green Jobs, GIZ and DWA.

IFAT INDIA hosted an Environmental Technologies Conference in association with TERI, which focused on issues related to Air Pollution, Solid Waste Management and Urban Water Management in the context of Sustainable Development.  This edition witness a new initiative Business to Government Forum which provides states an ideal platform to announce new projects, to find matching solutions for new tenders and to inform participants about the latest policies in the environmental sector.

Water safety an uphill task due to improper functioning of STPs

Drug Today Medical TimesThe availability of clean drinking water remains a big challenge in India due to various factors including contaminated water flowing into Indian rivers. This is largely due to dumping of industrial effluents and untreated sewage in the rivers. Several Indian states are now grappling with the crisis of contaminated water.

Conversion of this water into clean water also remains an uphill task due to lack of, and improper functioning of, Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) across all cities. This untreated water flows in rivers, lakes and ground water, thus making it contaminated. Usage of this water can lead severe health implications.

There are alarming figures that indicate if we do not solve water problems we may have a huge water crisis in coming years.

It is reported that around 70 per cent of sewage remains untreated, resulting in huge wastage of water that could be used after its purification through various methods.

It is understood that 62,000 million liters per day (MLD) sewage is generated in urban areas, while the treatment capacity across India is only 23,277 MLD, or 37 per cent of sewage generated.

According to government data released in December 2015, 816 municipal STPs are listed across India. Out of 816, only 522 SPTs work. So, of 62,000 MLD, the listed capacity is 23,277 MLD but no more than 18,883 MLD of sewage is actually treated. It means that seventy per cent of swage generated in India is not treated.

The sewage in class 1 and class 2 towns is estimated at 38,255 MLD, of which only 11,787 MLD (30%) is treated. This has been revealed in Faecal Sludge Management report, by Water Aid, a safe-water sanitation advocacy. The report revealed that untreated sewage is dumped directly into water bodies, polluting three-fourth of India’s surface water resources.

The Indian Government too admits the dysfunctional STPs are big problem in India. In November, 2014, then Environment minister Prakash Javadekar informed the media that around 70 percent of STPs in India are either not working or closed because the cost of running these plants is so high. He said that they need to make use of sludge and produce methane gas, which can generate power for these STPs.

It is important to know that those near sewage problems can experience severe health implications as complications like vomiting, gastroenteritis, diarrhoea, blood infection, dehydration, kidney dysfunction and urinary infection are clear risks.