.gif)
And why is NRCD not being pulled up immediately?
For those who may not know, NRCD stands for the National River Conservation Directorate. Perhaps the hidden nature of the directorate is more deliberate than by chance, as in all the brouhaha surrounding the recent furore on the increasing pollution in Yamuna, there was not even a ghost of a mention of NRCD, a body which technically should be the one being pulled up for destroying – through the lack of sustained action plans – whatever was left of the Yamuna. More amusing is the fact that NRCD, which is supposedly heading the Yamuna Action Plan, comes under Ministry of Environment and Forests rather than the Ministry of Water Sources.
It was the Supreme Court which first ordered a scrutiny on the pollution levels of the river 19 years ago and directed the Yamuna Action Plan in1993. However, reports by prominent agencies (Center for Science and Environment, MIT and others) including the recent SC reviews, reveal that the river remains as dead and polluted as usual in spite of the last two decades' effort and massive investments of Rs.6,500 crore to clean the river.
Inadequate capacity of sewage treatment, inefficiency of fund utilisation and delayed project implementation worsened the condition severally. A report submitted to the SC by an inspection team highlighted that “Delhi's 17 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) have a capacity of 2,460 MGD against a utilization of 1,558 MGD” where the city generates sewage around 3,800 MGD. In the same line, the Delhi Jal Board’s inceptor sewers project (to treat sewage before it flows into major drains) became a major failure as it was just able to spend only Rs.51 crore of the Rs.1,963 crore allocated. Sadly, apart from the inceptor scheme, the whole budget to restore Yamuna has simply gone down the drain since 1993. Over time, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi have spent around Rs.2,052 crore, Rs.2,084 and Rs.2,394 crore respectively. The YAP First Phase had to be accomplished by 2000 but was delayed by three years. And the proposed inceptor project would be completed by 2014 instead of 2012.
So who should be pulled up? The IIPM Think Tank has regularly argued that randomly hitting whichever departmental spokesperson walks into the court is no solution. The NRCD should be necessarily broken down into sister organisations, with one organisation heading the management of each river of national importance.
For those who may not know, NRCD stands for the National River Conservation Directorate. Perhaps the hidden nature of the directorate is more deliberate than by chance, as in all the brouhaha surrounding the recent furore on the increasing pollution in Yamuna, there was not even a ghost of a mention of NRCD, a body which technically should be the one being pulled up for destroying – through the lack of sustained action plans – whatever was left of the Yamuna. More amusing is the fact that NRCD, which is supposedly heading the Yamuna Action Plan, comes under Ministry of Environment and Forests rather than the Ministry of Water Sources.
It was the Supreme Court which first ordered a scrutiny on the pollution levels of the river 19 years ago and directed the Yamuna Action Plan in1993. However, reports by prominent agencies (Center for Science and Environment, MIT and others) including the recent SC reviews, reveal that the river remains as dead and polluted as usual in spite of the last two decades' effort and massive investments of Rs.6,500 crore to clean the river.
Inadequate capacity of sewage treatment, inefficiency of fund utilisation and delayed project implementation worsened the condition severally. A report submitted to the SC by an inspection team highlighted that “Delhi's 17 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) have a capacity of 2,460 MGD against a utilization of 1,558 MGD” where the city generates sewage around 3,800 MGD. In the same line, the Delhi Jal Board’s inceptor sewers project (to treat sewage before it flows into major drains) became a major failure as it was just able to spend only Rs.51 crore of the Rs.1,963 crore allocated. Sadly, apart from the inceptor scheme, the whole budget to restore Yamuna has simply gone down the drain since 1993. Over time, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Delhi have spent around Rs.2,052 crore, Rs.2,084 and Rs.2,394 crore respectively. The YAP First Phase had to be accomplished by 2000 but was delayed by three years. And the proposed inceptor project would be completed by 2014 instead of 2012.
So who should be pulled up? The IIPM Think Tank has regularly argued that randomly hitting whichever departmental spokesperson walks into the court is no solution. The NRCD should be necessarily broken down into sister organisations, with one organisation heading the management of each river of national importance.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
| ExecutiveMBA |
