02/04/2012
CAG diagnosis: Bimaru Gujarat
Water Bodies Make You Sick!
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Ahmedabad : The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has come down hard on the state government over water pollution.
Denting the green image of Gujarat,CAG,in its 2011-12 civil report,claimed that there is an upward trend in the incidence of water-borne diseases due to heavily polluted water sources.
It cited South Gujarat as the worst case,where industrial clusters like Vapi and Ankleshwar and Nandesari near Vadodara have been blamed for violating pollution control norms and discharging untreated waste.
About 32 % of the states drinking water sources were found to be contaminated in a premonsoon survey,but affected villagers were not alerted,claimed CAG.Though there were alternate sources of safe drinking water in 4,215 villages,the top state body,Water and Sanitation Management Organisation (WASMO ),remained indifferent and did not alert the villagers.The report blamed the lackadaisical attitude of the state government,including agencies like Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB),for ignoring effects of pollution on human health.
CAG said,Risks to human health from waterborne and water-related diseases due to pollution and from presence of metals and other organic pollutants in rivers,lakes and groundwater have not been assessed by the government.
The CAG claimed the number of cases of acute diarrheal disease went up from 5.67 lakh in 2008 to 6.73 lakh in 2010;viral hepatitis from 10,051 to 16,234;enteric fever from 12,850 to 38,775;and cholera from 50 to 573.CAG said though rapid response teams were made available to fight these diseases,water pollution continued to pose a perennial challenge to the public health system in the state.
Referring to Gorva lake in Vadodara,CAG said hutment residents and slaughter houses adjoining the lake were discharging waste into the lake.
The Water Quality Review Committee (WQRC ) was set up (in 2002) to function as the nodal agency for compilation of reports,and convening meetings of implementing or testing agencies.But WQRC convened only six meetings in eight years and did not meet even once in 2006,2007,2009 and 2010, CAG noted.
HARD TALK
Inlet effluent characteristic of CETPs of Ankleshwar,Vapi and Veraval in excess to prescribed limits.This indicated that individual units were not carrying out effective primary treatment Government has not identified aquatic species,flora and fauna which are affected by water pollution Quantification of human activities around water bodies not carried out Poor quality of planning as no information was available with the state government No action taken by the government to check deteriorating quality of ground water No continuous monitoring of ground water
DIRTY PICTURE: Photograph taken from CAG report of Gorva Lake,Vadodara
The heavily polluted Sabarmati river near Vishala bridge
