Karnataka will have to spend Rs 599 crore more to clean 17 polluted rivers

BENGALURU: To clean 17 polluted river stretches in the state, including Arkavathi in Bengaluru region, various departments and local administrations across the state will have to spend an estimated Rs 599 crore, according to the Consolidated Revised Action Plans drafted for individual stretches.
This is in addition to Rs 828 crore already allocated for projects under way to cleanse these rivers. The revised plans have been prepared by the authorities in accordance with an National Green Tribunal (NGT) directive.

Arkavathi river has been already allocated the lion’s share (Rs 553 crore) of Rs 828 crore earmarked for ongoing projects.The river will now need an additional Rs 9 crore. Malaprabha and Yagachi rivers will get Rs 97 crore and Rs 117 crore.
In September 2018, the NGT noted that in the assessment of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), there were 351 polluted river stretches in the country, 17 of which flowed in Karnataka.
The tribunal ordered the states in which these rivers run to set up river rejuvenation committees (RRC) which will oversee drafting and implementation of an action plan, targeted at improving the water quality of the stretches.
While the Karnataka RRC submitted its initial report in December, it was declared ‘incomplete’ by the NGT, which asked the committee to submit a comprehensive action plan, detailing necessary budgetary provisions and timelines by January 31.
This action plans, which were approved by the committee on Wednesday and submitted to the CPCB, concluded that “the projects worth Rs 828 crore had already been approved and sanctioned, while an estimated cost of about Rs 599 crore will be required to implement the projects mentioned in the detailed action plans” submitted by the deputy commissioners of the districts in which these stretches flow.
“As per the NGT order issued in December, the CPCB will review the action plans submitted by all the states, consolidate them and submit the plan to the NGT by February 28. If the CPCB has no objections, then we will implement this action plan,” said a KSPCB official.
Money for treatment plants
Since the inflow of untreated sewage is the primary reason for pollution, the proposed Rs 599 crore will be utilised to set up sewage treatment plants (STPs), common effluent treatment plant (CETPs) and underground drainage networks in towns and cities near rivers. Individual action plans have been drafted for 17 rivers.
Most of the action plans find that the “cost component shall invariably depend towards construction, operation and maintenance of sewage treatment plant. On an average, Rs 2.5 crore has been estimated as capital cost per MLD (for primary, secondary and tertiary treatment)”. The deadline for completion of the work differs from river to river, with the maximum number of months required ranging from 6 to 24 months.
With most of them state that the local bodies should make budgetary provisions for the required cost, it appears that they will have to finance this process themselves. Consequently, officials from the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, which is facilitating the process, said it was unclear about the source of funds, but since the plans were drafted by local authorities, it was likely that they already had what they needed.