OFFSHORING POLLUTION

To save the state's polluted rivers, the Gujarat government plans to dispose of the bulk of industrial wastewater directly into the deep sea. But environmentalists fear the move's impact on marine life and coastal settlements in the Gulf of Khambhat

- Jumana Shah

If all goes as planned, Gujarat over the next decade will have an extensive network of deep-sea pipelines to discharge effluents from its seven industrial clusters-Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Ankleshwar, Surat, Vapi, Sarigam and Jetpur-into the Arabian Sea. Aiming to save the Sabarmati and other critically polluted rivers of the state, the Gujarat government informed the Vidhan Sabha in September that seven such deep-sea pipelines, also known as marine outfalls, are in various stages of planning and execution. The state's first such major pipeline was made operational in 2016 in Bharuch district-from Jhagadia industrial estate to the coastal village of Kantiyajal about 60 km away which disperses treated effluents into the Gulf of Khambhat at a depth of 11 metres, 9.4 km from the shore.

While the Rs 8,000 crore-plus project is expected to give rivers flowing through the state a new lease of life, environmentalists have raised concern over its possible impact on marine ecosystems and coastal habitations. Industries in Gujarat produce 575 million litres per day (MLD) of effluents. Of this, 60 MLD, or 11 per cent, is discharged directly into the sea, and the remaining 515 MLD, or 89 per cent, is let into various rivers and creeks.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2018 identified 20 polluted river stretches in Gujarat, of which five-Sabarmati, Bhadar, Bhogavo, Amlakhadi and Vishwamitriare classified as 'critically polluted'. The pollution in the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad and Mahi near Vadodara has, in particular, become unbearable due to its detrimental impact on aquatic life and the lingering stench. Untreated and illegal discharge of industrial wastewater and domestic sewage into these non-perennial rivers has been identified as the root cause.