By Benedict Paramanand, editor, SustainabilityNext
On August 15, India’s new prime minister Narendra Modi gave an Independence Day speech that broke from tradition—it used “Clean India” as a slogan. Modi’s dream project is the rejuvenation of the Ganges, India’s most sacred and polluted river, and he is expected to announce a clear roadmap in early September 2014.
Considering the magnitude of the problems, the Ganges cleanup may well be the biggest river sustainability project ever undertaken. It also represents an enormous business opportunity for companies involved in agriculture, sanitation, wastewater management, urban planning, clean technology, and infrastructure. Popular India Express columnist Tavleen Singh tweeted that only foreign companies can address the problems, considering the technological and managerial complexity involved.
The 2,500 km-long Ganges supplies water to about 40% of India’s population and provides a livelihood for over 500 million people. It flows through the nation’s most densely populated regions, passing 29 cities with over 100,000 residents, 23 cities with 50,000 to 100,000 residents, and about 48 towns.
All the cities and towns along the river will need modern water and waste management facilities, including sewage and waste treatment plants. Right now, they have none. Thousands of villages will need toilets to prevent night soil by millions living along the river. The thousands of small manufacturing facilities that dump effluents into the river need treatment units.Waste that is taken out of the river by dredging needs to be treated using modern methods.The predominantly agricultural economy needs sustainable practices to prevent chemical fertilizers from flowing into the river.
It’s not that the earlier governments did not want to clean the river. A campaign to restore the Ganges was initiated by prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1984, but the river’s problems proved to be too numerous and complex. Momentum has picked up in the last 4 years, with the World Bank providing $1 billion in credit and the Indian government earmarking $4 billion. But there has traditionally been no sense of urgency in tackling the issue.
This time will be different. Modi is known as an execution-obsessed man who means business. He was elected from Varanasi, one of the most sacred cities located on the Ganges. He is also a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which draws inspiration from Hinduism and attaches religious significance to the river.
Transportation minister Nitin Gadkari estimates that the project will require a massive $15 billion investment. And the timeframe is aggressive: 3 years to stop the inflow of sewage and effluents; 6 to 8 years to complete full restoration. Modi has also asked his ministers to develop world-class riverfronts fit for recreation in at least 5 cities: Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, and Kolkata. The project is not just about reviving the river, but developing commercial opportunities in ecological and religious tourism.
Reports suggest that the government may provide about 30% of the necessary funding and expect the rest to come through a public-private partnership model. Foreign direct investment rules are expected to be relaxed to attract both funding and technology.
Early Movers
Israeli and Danish companies already have a clear head start on capitalizing on this enormous opportunity. Israeli ambassador to India Alon Ushpiz recently remarked to the Times of India “think about the purification of the holy Ganges. I have a list of 200 Israeli companies that can do this.” Here are a few examples of some promising projects:
- A consortium of Danish water companies is already conducting a water management pilot project in the western state of Gujarat, where Modi previously serve as first minister. The primary goal of the project is to reduce pollution sustainably. This may mean revolutionary changes to centuries-old irrigation practices that rely on the monsoon for flooding, which results in chemical runoff into the Ganges.
- NaanDanJain, an Indian-Israeli firm, has established a test farm for drip irrigation in the southern state of Karnataka. The technique saves water and fertilizer by allowing water to drip slowly to the roots of plants through a network of valves, pipes, tubes, and emitters. According to Naan Dan Jain director Amnon Ofen, this technology has already started to change the face of Indian agriculture. “The irrigation business in India is above $.5 billion a year, which in the next 2 or 3 years, will reach $1.5 billion—just micro irrigation,” he said, adding that this would be a reason for foreign companies to invest in India.
- NewTech, an initiative led by the Israeli Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Labor is matching Israeli water, energy, and environmental technology companies with Indian partners to find solutions for the Ganges. Oded Distel, head of Israel’s national program for the promotion of water and energy industries, claims that their technologies are becoming so advanced that even leftover residue from wastewater treatment is being considered as a possible source of energy.
- Water Revive, an Israeli bioengineering company, is looking to rehabilitate the Ganges by constructing wetlands. Water Revive marine ecologist Limor Gruber has said that these efforts could involve a series of channels that divert wastewater from the river to cleanse it naturally, making the water drinkable by the time it flows back into the river. He said it has been tested successfully on Israel’s Yarkon River, where more than 80 channels were integrated. “This technology is sophisticated, but it’s a part of nature and it needs almost no maintenance,” according to Gruber.
- The Advanced Integrated Wastewater Pond System (AIWPS), developed by University of California Berkeley engineers William Oswald and Bailey Green, has been used in California for 44 years. The process removes suspended solids and coliform bacteria from fecal residue, enabling wastewater to be used for irrigation. Treated water meets stringent state standards for irrigation, discharge into a river, or processing into clean drinking water.
Business opportunities will not end with restoration of the Ganges.There will be medium and long-term chances to offer varied services along a cleaner, greener river of the future. The success of this project will have a massive ripple effect on India’s entire water system. It will shape India’s evolution as a nation.