BHUBANESWAR: Even as sewerage and drainage projects of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar planned under the Integrated Sanitation Improvement Programme, are scheduled to be completed in two years, the work is

Cities in India are dreaming of becoming New York and London but we seldom worry about as basic an issue as sewage and its disposal in our country. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has brought out a two-volume book titled Excreta Matters: Report on the State of India’s Environment to highlight how only 20 per cent of sewage is being treated in the country. Sunita Narain, director general, CSE, talks about the murky issue plaguing the water sources in this interview to Rashme Sehgal.

Mushrooming multi-level residential buildings and absence of a proper government policy to provide water connection to these complexes are leading to a grave situation in the city.

Since the civic authorities are not providing water to residential complexes, the private builders are digging borewells to meet the demand, putting extra pressure on the depleting groundwater level. Yet, the state government is far from making a concrete policy on it and departments are passing the buck.

Rs 24,000-crore estimation to meet City’s water needs

Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) Minister S Suresh Kumar has evinced interest in a plan prepared by the Centre for Policies and Practices (CPP), an NGO, to solve the growing demand for water in the City.

Expresses concern over discharge of 2,900 million litres of sewage

Warning that time was running out to preserve the Ganga, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday pulled up State governments for tardy performance on sewage treatment and asked them to take action against industries polluting the river. Expressing concern over discharge of 2,900 million litres of sewage in the river daily,