Ganga Action Plan

1. Ganga Action Plan
Delhi Air Pollution and Public Health
Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016
Bhopal Gas Tragedy

2. -Ganga Action Plan (GAP) for immediate reduction of
pollution load on the river Ganga was prepared by
Department of Environment (now Ministry of Environment
& Forests) in December 1984 on the basis of a survey on
Ganga basin carried out by the Central Pollution Control
Board in 1984.
- To oversee the implementation of the GAP (100% centrally
sponsored) and lay down policies and programmes,
Government of India constituted the Central Ganga
Authority (CGA) under the leadership of the Prime Minister
Rajiv Gandhi in February 1985. It was later renamed as the
National River Conservation Authority (NRCA) in September
1995.

3. -The GAP was thus launched in June 1985 with the
establishment of the Ganga Project Directorate (GPD),
renamed as the NRCD (National River Conservation
Directorate) in June 1994, as a wing of the Department of
Environment, to execute the projects under the guidance
and supervision of the CGA. The state agencies like Public
Health Engineering Department, Water and Sewage
Boards, Pollution Control Boards, Development
Authorities, Local Bodies etc. were responsible for actual
implementation of the scheme.
- The main aim of GAP was to improve the water quality by
the interception, diversion, and treatment of domestic
sewage. It also aimed to prevent toxic and industrial
chemical wastes (from identified polluting units) from
entering the river.

4. The other objectives of the Ganga Action Plan are as under.
1. Control of non-point pollution from agricultural run off, human
defecation, cattle wallowing and throwing of unburnt and half
burnt bodies into the river.
2. Research and Development to conserve the biotic, diversity of the
river to augment its productivity.
3. New technology of sewage treatment like Up-flow Anaerobic
Sludge Blanket (UASB) and sewage treatment through afforestation
has been successfully developed.
4. Rehabilitation of soft-shelled turtles for pollution abatement of
river have been demonstrated and found useful.
5. Resource recovery options like production of methane for energy
generation and use of aquaculture for revenue generation have been
demonstrated.
6. To act as trend setter for taking up similar action plans in other
grossly polluted stretches in other rivers.

5. Later in 2008, It was decided to declare Ganga a ‘National
River’ to achieve the objectives of the clean-up operation. It
was also decided to set up a Ganga River Basin Authority (in
2009), which will be entrusted with the responsibility of
planning, implementing and monitoring projects regarding
the river.
- In 2010, ‘Government clean-up campaign’ was started to
ensure that by 2020 no untreated municipal sewage or
industrial runoff enters river.
- In 2014, ‘Namami Gange Programme’ was launched as an
Integrated Conservation Mission, to accomplish the twin
objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation,
and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.

6. Delhi Air Pollution and Public Health
On November 8, 2017, the Air Quality Index crossed the pollution levels of
999, making it the worst of all. November 2017 is referred to as the Great
Smog of Delhi as well because the air particulate hit the worst level, beyond
the safe limit of 100.
The Ministry of Earth Sciences’ research paper was published in October
2018 and identified the following pollutants in Delhi air:
Vehicular emissions:
 41 per cent
 Dust: 21.5 per cent
 Industries: 18 per cent
The director of Centre for Science and Environment blamed the Society of
Indian Automobile Manufacturers for lobbying against the report for it
showed the automobiles in the wrong light.

7. Other than vehicles, the great Delhi pollution is also caused by animal
agriculture or stubble burning. Agriculture is the main occupation in
adjacent states of Delhi.
The farmers burn their crops to prepare it for next harvest, and the
smoke makes way to Delhi, engulfing it in the thick layer of smoke. The
air quality, which is already in the worse shape, gets terrible real
quickly.
The pollution level has always been a pain point for Delhi among its
many issues, but of late, it has been drastic to the extent of becoming
life-threatening.
Even in the year 2011, the World Health Organisation reported in its
urban air database that Delhi pollution levels have crossed the
maximum PM 10 limit by more than 10X. The main reasons stated
behind the increase in indoor and outdoor pollutions were industrial
activities and vehicular emissions.

8. Health Impacts
The Air Quality Guidelines established by the WHO states that the particles can
have an adverse long-term impact on health. Due to their smaller size, they can be
inhaled through respiration and can cause severe respiratory issues.
This study also suggests the concentration of these particles shouldn’t exceed20
μg/m3. Beyond it, these air particles can trigger the onset of severe
cardiopulmonary health ailments. When exposed to for a prolonged time, these
particles can cause severe damage to lung tissue, asthma, cancer, and even
premature death due to respiratory issues.
Older people, kids and patients with pre-existing respiratory ailments such as lung
inflammation, influenza and asthma are susceptible to the particular matter
suspended in the air. And it is not just outdoor air pollution. The suspended
particulates make way to indoor air in homes and stay there as well.
The morbid effects of Delhi air pollution aren’t limited to lungs and respiratory
ailments alone. Hypertension due to higher particulate matter was also a standard
prevalence in Delhi inhabitants, and it was thirty-six per cent against the 9.5 per
cent in the control population. PM10 was also responsible for higher incidences of
eye irritation, skin irritation and chronic headaches in Delhi population.

9. A particular study in children notes the correlation between particulate
levels in ambient air and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
in kids.
The vehicular pollutants have also been responsible for increased lead
levels in blood cells, leading to abnormal mental development in mothers
during pregnancy.
The air pollutants result in lesser visibility and lower penetration of
ultraviolet-B radiation, resulting in a lower haze score. A lower haze scare
means a decreased serum concentration of vitamin D and lower
immunity in inhabitants.
A time-series study also saw an increase in all-natural case mortality rate
due to air pollution. Gaseous pollutants, however, even lower than the
average permissible levels, showed a consistent adverse impact on
respiratory issues such as asthma, lung infections, cough and breathing
difficulties.

10. Plastic Waste Management Rules,
2016
• Plastic has multiple uses and the physical and chemical properties lead to
commercial success. However, the indiscriminate disposal of plastic has
become a major threat to the environment.
• Plastic waste directly and indirectly affects living organisms throughout the
ecosystem, including an increasingly high impact on marine life. According to
United Nations, almost 80% of marine debris is plastic.
• The plastic carry bags are the biggest contributors of littered waste and every
year, millions of plastic bags end up in to the environment vis-a-vis soil, water
bodies, water courses, etc and it takes an average of one thousand years to
decompose completely.
• To address the issue of scientific plastic waste management, the Plastic
Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 were notified in 2011, which
included plastic waste management. The Government has notified the Plastic
Waste Management Rules, 2016, in suppression of the earlier Plastic Waste
(Management and Handling) Rules, 2011. These rules were further amended
in 2018 (Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules 2018.

11. The Plastic Waste Management Rules,
2016 major points:
• Rules mandate an increase in the minimum thickness of plastic carry
bags from 40 to 50 microns. This would increase the cost of the plastic
bags and restrict vendors from giving away bags for free, thereby
reducing waste.
• Strengthen the concept of “extended producers responsibility” that
means it helps to bring in the responsibilities of producers and
generators, both in plastic waste management system and to
introduce collect back system of plastic waste.
• Due to the absence of any suitable plastic alternate, country has to
move towards a regime where plastic waste is treated and recycled
rather than banning plastic product.
• Expand the jurisdiction of applicability from the municipal area to
rural areas, because plastic has reached rural areas also by the
producers/brand owners, as per extended producers responsibility.

12. • To introduce collection of plastic waste management fee
through pre-registration of the producers, importers of
plastic carry bags/multilayered packaging and vendors selling
the same for establishing the waste management system.
• Rlues envisage to promote the use of plastic waste for road
construction or energy recovery, or waste to oil etc. for
gainful utilization of waste and addressing waste disposal.
• Local bodies and gram panchayats are responsible for
implementing and coordinating a waste management system.
• Retailers or street vendors who sell or provide commodities
in plastic carry bags, or multi-layered packaging, or plastic
sheets or covers made of plastic sheets which are not
manufactured, labelled or marked in accordance with these
rules will be fined.

13.  It was also laid out in the rules that carry bags be
explicitly priced but this point was deleted in 2018
amendment.
 In 2018 amendment, a centralised registration
system was formed by the Central Pollution Control
Board (CPCB) for the registration of the
producer/importer/brand owner. The registration
should be automated and should take into account
ease of doing business for producers, recyclers and
manufacturers.

14. Bhopal Gas Tragedy
The world’s worst industrial accident occurred in
Bhopal, M.P., India on the night of 2nd and morning of
3rd December, 1984. It happened at Union Carbide
Company which used to manufacture Carbaryl
(Carbamate) pesticide using Methyl isocyanate (MIC).
Due to accidental entry of water in the tank, the
reaction mixture got overheated and exploded because
its cooling system had failed. Other safety devices also
did not work or were not in the working condition.

15. Forty tons of MIC leaked into the atmosphere which might
have contained 40 kg of phosgene as an impurity. MIC gas at
lower concentrations affects lungs and eyes and causes irritation
in the skin. Higher amounts remove oxygen from the lungs and
can cause death. In the winter night of December there were fog
like clouds over south and east of the plant. The gas spread over
40 Km2 area. About 7100 persons were killed (2600 due to direct
exposure to MIC and other 2700 due to aftereffects of exposure)
according to Indian officials. About 2,70,000 persons got exposed
to MIC. An estimated 67,000 people suffered from severe eye,
respiratory, neuromuscular, gastrointestinal and gynecological
disorders. About 1000 persons became blind. Without counting
the damage of human lives, it cost about $ 770 million in clean
up and damage settlement. This tragedy could have been averted
had the company spend about $ 1 million on safety
improvement.