Union Government approves new project to control pollution of River Sal at Navelin, Goa

The Union Government on February 4, 2018 sanctioned a new project to control pollution in River Sal at Navelim town, Goa.

The project was approved by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP).

Highlights of the project
• The project will be completed at cost of Rs 61.74 crore and this cost will be borne by the Centre and State on 60:40 basis.

• Under the project, around 32 km of sewers will be laid and sewage treatment plant of 3 million litres per day (MLD) will be constructed.

• The project is scheduled for completion by January 2021.

• It will help in reduction of pollution load in the river Sal and improvement in its water quality, besides improving the environment and sanitation in the town.

• It will take care of entire catchment area of the river through measures like rejuvenation of lakes and wetlands, construction of a small-check dam to ensure continuous water flow and afforestation.

In the year 2015, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had identified the Sal river stretch at Navelim as one of the 302 polluted river stretches across the country based on Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels. BOD level is a key indicator of organic pollution showing water quality.

National River Conservation Plan
• The National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) covers conservation of 31 more rivers in overall 14 states, other than Ganga and its tributaries.

• Presently, several projects worth Rs 2691 crore are being implemented under the NRCP in eight states.

• It includes pollution abatement of Mula-Mutha river at Pune (estimated cost of over Rs 990 crore) and Sabarmati river conservation phase-II at Ahmedabad, Gujarat (estimated cost of over Rs 444 crore), among others.

• The pollution abatement effort under the plan is an old programme, however, the environment ministry recently approved a 'basin management' approach to conserve and clean rivers.

• This new 'basin management' approach is unlike the current strategy where conservation is limited only to tackling pollution load from domestic wastewater and regulation of industrial pollution.