ANNOUNCEMENTS
Lucknow: The School of Management Sciences (SMS), Lucknow, organised a two-day national conference focusing on sustainable business approaches for a collective future.
At the collaborative event with the Indian Society for Training & Development (ISTD) and the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) , institute director Ashish Bhatnagar said, "Sustainability is not an option, it is a necessity."
Speakers, including former chief secretary of Uttar Pradesh R Ramani, former director of IIM Kozhikode Krishna Kumar, and TERI SAS New Delhi Associate Professor, Shruti Sharma Rana, led discussions on sustainable finance, circular economy, and ESG practices. TNN
Read MoreProminent environmental experts have challenged the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) report declaring Triveni Sangam water unfit for bathing during the Mahakumbh. The experts argue CPCB report is incomplete citing missing data on nitrates and phosphates.
New Delhi: Prominent environment experts have countered Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report claiming poor quality of water at Mahakumbh. The CPCB report said that Triveni Sangam water is not fit for bathing. The CPCB cites high levels of biological oxygen demand (BOD) in the water.
Prof Umesh Kumar Singh, who teaches at Centre of Environmental Science at the University of Allahabad, said that water at Sangam is fit for taking a bath keeping in view the current set of data.
‘CPCB needs to work more’
“A few days back, the Centre Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report stated increased levels of faecal coliform (bacteria) in the water. I believe that the CPCB needs to work more on the report because their data is not complete,” Professor Singh said. “The level of nitrates and phosphates are missing from the report. The level of dissolved oxygen in the water, as shown in the report, is good. And on the basis of the current data, I can say that the water at Triveni Sangam is fit for taking a bath,” Professor Umesh Singh told ANI.
“Report very inconsistent”
Similarly, another professor RK Ranjan termed CPCB report “very inconsistent”. According to RK Ranjan, who is Associate Professor Central University of South Bihar, the Central Pollution Control Board data is very inconsistent and to conclude that water is unsafe to bathe in would be to say things in haste.
He added, “There is not enough data to conclude that the waters in Prayagraj are not safe to bathe in. Similar data can be seen from Garhmukteshwar, Gazipur, Buxar and Patna. There could be many reasons for this to happen. Among others one reason behind this is when a large number of people bathe in the same waters. It also matters from where and when the sample of water is taken.”
“Coliform bacteria is nothing new”
Dr. Amit Kumar Mishra, another environmental scientist from JNU, also holds the same opinion. Mishra says the presence of coliform bacteria is nothing new and called for new data set.
I would say we need more data sets, we need more measurements. There is a huge number of population which is taking bath at Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj. If you talk about the coliform bacteria, it is nothing new. If you see the data of the Shashi Snan peaks, you will see that the E.Coli bacteria peaks at that time. So, I would say that we need more data sets, we need more parameters, we need more monitoring stations, especially down the stream,” Amit Kumar Mishra said.
Prof. Chander Kumar Singh of TERI School of Advanced Studies also said that many parameters are not present in the CPBC report.
“In the CPCB report available, many parameters are not present. I believe better information can be given if more data and facts come out,” Prof. Chander argued.
https://x.com/ANI/status/1892903056926486548
| Date | News Title | Source |
| 25-March-2025 | How water green credits can fu... | Hindustan Times (Opinion) |
| 23-February-2025 | Sustainable biz practices disc... | The Times of India (Online) |
| 21-February-2025 | Sangam fit for bath’, Enviro... | News9 (Online) |
| 12-February-2025 | A role for India in South-Sout... | The Hindu (Online) |
| 02-December-2024 | ICAR Findings Show 34% Decline... | ETV Bharat (Online) |
| 28-October-2024 | German Vice Chancellor Dr. Hab... | Indian Chemical News (Online) |
| 14-October-2024 | Climate action is the hot new ... | The Print (Online) |
| 04-October-2024 | Turning carbon into opportunit... | Deccan Herald (Online) |
| 25-September-2024 | University of Leeds and TERI S... | APN News (Online) |
| 08-August-2024 | Teaching climate change: Globa... | Careers360 (Online) |
Gurgaon: The Haryana government has proposed it will declare areas around the Najafgarh lake as a wetland. It has submitted to the Centre an environmental management plan on how to protect the lake. The report will eventually be submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
According to the plan, Haryana will notify the area under Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 and begin the process of demarcating it with geo-tagged pillars. It will also constitute a wetlands committee to oversee the entire process.
No construction, the plan proposes, will be allowed in the ‘hazard zone’. Haryana will also find alternative connectivity plans for settlements at the two ends of the lake, which will considerably reduce vehicular traffic, especially when migratory birds flock to the area.
Officials said once the area around the lake is notified as a wetland, it would give both Haryana and Delhi (some part of the waterbody is in NCT) equal powers to keep watch on prohibited activities, such as encroachment of any kind, disposal of waste and discharge of untreated effluents into the waterbody.
RK Chauhan, joint director in the environment and climate change department, said, “Yes, we have submitted a plan for the protection of the Najafgarh lake. It is a detailed report on how Haryana plans to manage the area.”
The plan, officials said, is divided into three parts — immediate action within a year in the first part, medium measures over the next two to three years in the next part and long-term steps in the last portion.
The Haryana government’s management plan was necessitated by an order of the NGT, which is hearing a petition filed by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in 2018 for the protection of the lake.
The Delhi government, which is also a party to the case, submitted its plan in March this year. In June, the NGT had asked the Haryana chief secretary to be present with a management plan at the next hearing on October 4, but the government sought more time. The next hearing is on January 25.
Spread across 7 square kilometres, the Najafgarh lake is crucial for the region as it acts as a large aquifer for groundwater recharge. Many creeks from the Aravalis flow into the lake, and further into the Yamuna. According to the plan submitted by the government, the waterbody acts as a flood buffer, helps treat water and regulate temperature, and is a biodiversity hotspot.
Ritu Rao, a research scholar at the Teri School of Advanced Studies who is working on urban waterbodies’ sustainability, said, “The Najafgarh lake area should definitely be declared as a wetland. Only tertiary treated sewage water should be discharged into the lake. The government should also declare a no-construction zone up to the high flood level (contour 212.5 manak) as the area is prone to liquefaction (in the event of an earthquake, the ground starts behaving like any liquid, causing buildings in the area to tilt or even collapse). It is a wetland by nature and comes under seismic zone IV.”
