Rajat Banerji | May, 2002

In terms of water quantity, the most stressed river basin in India is the Sabarmati. But now the planners are going to try doing something about that.

There just isn't enough available water in the Sabarmati Basin.

It is an internationally accepted norm that any area where per capita water availability is less than 1,000 cubic metres is in poor shape. And water availability in the Sabarmati basin, in the western extremity of India, is a mere 360 cubic metres the lowest in India.

But now the planners will try something bold and new: institutional changes in water management.

Shortages aplenty

	Industrial effluents lend weird colours to the river, with foam floating downstream for miles

Sabarmati River originates in the Aravalli hills in Rajasthan. It meets the Arabian Sea at the Gulf of Cambay in Gujarat State after travelling 371 kms. This is a hot, semi-arid region, where the rainfall pattern is uneven and erratic. Some 95% of the average rainfall occurs during the monsoon months of July-October.

The basin has a maximum length of 300 km and a maximum breadth of 105 kms. The total catchment area is 21,674 square kilometres of which 4,124 lies in Rajasthan, while the remaining 18,550 sq. km are in Gujarat. It is a highly exploited basin, with rapid growth in all sectors of the economy. Not surprisingly, its water resources surface and sub-surface are under strain.

With a population density of 310 persons per square km, it is one of the most densely populated basins in India. By comparison, the figure is 165 in the Yamuna basin. Water quality is also poor, with excessive fluoride, total dissolved salts, nitrates and salinity. These appalling facts impact on the 921 villages in the Sabarmati Basin.

URBAN DECAY
The river divides Ahmedabad into two halves, in its 10-km run through the city, 27 drains release untreated or partially treated sewage into the river, from either bank. To make matters industrial effluents from the three industrial estates-Vatwa, Naroda and Odhav are freely mixed with this sewage. A total of 3,850 industries - comprising chemical, engineering, fabric, ceramic, and printing units - are in these three industrial estates.

Around 480 mld of domestic sewage and industrial effluents are released into the river from the Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar belt. Less than 10 percent of the sewage is treated. With a population of around 4.5 million, Ahmedabad-which has 35.7 per cent of the population in the basin- is a major consumer of water. Some 45 per cent of the city's water supplies are from the river, with the remainder from groundwater. This exploitation has caused an average drop of 3 metres annually, in groundwater levels.

Worst possible classification
Sabaramati has been categorised as a 'E' class river when it flows through Ahmedabad. This classification is that of the worst polluted stretches of surface water. Significant contributors to pollution are the industrial estates around the city and also untreated sewage from Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.

The Pirana sewage treatment plant receives sewage and industrial effluents. It cannot treat this deadly cocktail and most of the toxic-laden muck goes into the river. Industry effluents enter a common drain which leads into the sewer lines: a simple and cost-free way of disposing effluents. In its greed to attract and maintain industrial investment, governments usually turn the other way and the polluter generally gets away with murder.

Other forms of insidious pollution continue unabated. Impoverished citizens wash hundreds of plastic bags, collected from the industrial areas. Needless to say, these bags are lined with chemicals and dyes. Not only does this compromise the health of these people but also adds to river pollution.

On the other hand, the state government some significant steps as well. Ahmedabad was the first city in the country to issue municipal bonds, and this collection, when linked with an American aid project, has resulted in the Raska water project that supplies a significant quantity of the city's water supply. This project signifies an important step in management of municipal services. Not only has the city generated the necessary funds; there is also a workable cost recovery system in place, with all users paying for the water they receive. And nobody's complaining!

Another encouraging sign is the Sabarmati River Front Development (RFD) plan, which involves utilising the 9-km of banks of the river as it flows through the city. While a certain portion of this land is to be commercially utilised, public utilities - such as parks, sports and leisure facilities are to come up on the remaining area. The logic is that commercial proceeds will fund the public utilities. This plan is also a sound one, as the riverfronts of most Indian cities are in pathetic shape. Left unplanned, riverfronts are a logical area for slums to mushroom-land and water being available. Critics of RFD state that the existing slums need to be taken into account, when such plans are afoot.

And finally, a solution?
Another approach that holds the key to the problem faced in all the river basins is the concept of integrated river basin planning and management, which is being implemented in the Sabarmati Basin. It is an institutional arrangement involving all stakeholders.

This is an Indo-French bilateral effort. Under this system the following principles are adhered to:

1. The user pays for the water used and the polluter pays for the deterioration he causes. This system takes into account the capacity to pay for each category of user.
2. Water use development and management are financially self-sustaining. The river basin committee - comprising various stakeholder representatives, decide the water charges to be levied.
3. More than 90 per cent of the money collected is redistributed of financial assistance - loans and grants - either for pollution control or for the development of water resources and their sustainability.