A Comptroller and Auditor General audit has exposed severe gaps in sewage management under the Namami Gange programme in Uttarakhand, revealing that total coliform levels increased 32-fold along the 93-kilometre stretch of the Ganga between Devprayag and Haridwar. Coveringe the period from 2018 to 2023, the audit found that poor sewage infrastructure and operational lapses have led to direct contamination of the holy river. Analysis of decade-long data up to October 2023 indicated that untreated waste from 12 of the state’s 37 sewage treatment plants was flowing straight into the Ganga and its tributaries, while 21 treatment plants built across seven towns lacked even a single household sewer link, rendering them largely ineffective.
Critical Deficiencies Found Across Treatment Infrastructure
The audit pointed out major structural flaws in the establishment and day-to-day operation of sewage infrastructure across the state. Several treatment facilities lacked the capacity needed to treat local waste volumes, and ineffective interception allowed drains to channel raw sewage into the river. Multiple plants were found to be operating in violation of environmental norms established by the National Green Tribunal. The defects were serious enough to prompt the local Jal Sansthan to decline taking control of the treatment plant in Srinagar. Furthermore, District Ganga Committees in Srinagar, Uttarkashi, Tehri, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Dehradun, and Haridwar failed to draft river basin management plans, leaving conservation activities without proper coordination and planning.
Extremely Poor Coverage of Domestic Sewer Connections
Household connectivity remained dismal across multiple hill districts and prominent plains settlements. In Srinagar, merely 797 out of 6,523 households, or 12.22 percent, were connected to the sewerage network. Chamoli-Gopeshwar recorded a connectivity rate of only 6.42 percent, covering 354 of 5,510 households. In the Gyansu area of Uttarkashi, just 572 of 6,089 homes, representing 9.39 percent, had sewer connections. Major pilgrimage towns did not fare well either. In Haridwar, 47,728 of 68,802 homes, or 69.37 percent, were linked to the network, leaving nearly thirty percent of homes unconnected. In Rishikesh, Tapovan, and Muni Ki Reti, only 9,966 of 34,756 residences, or 28.67 percent, were linked to treatment systems, ensuring that untreated residential wastewater continued reaching nearby drainage channels.
Flawed Spending and Commercial Waste Spurring Coliform Surge
Financial management also came under severe criticism, with the report noting that although the state government spent 55.08 crore rupees on sewage development, no funds were directed toward expanding sewerage systems in Ganga front towns. The surge in total coliform along the 93-kilometre distance between Har Ki Pauri and Devprayag was directly linked to this ongoing discharge of untreated effluent. Commenting on the situation, senior chemist and former OSD of the Sparsh Ganga campaign, Prof. P.P. Badoni, noted that while the Dharasu to Gangotri stretch recorded bacteriophage levels of 1,100 percent that helped keep water safe, commercial activity downstream was undermining water purity. Because residential density between Devprayag and Rishikesh is limited, waste generated by local hotels and restaurants entered the water, contributing directly to the steep rise in coliform levels.
