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NMCG tells NGT that India’s urban sewerage networks remain incomplete, leaving cities with multiple unsewered pockets.
Report backs Interception and Diversion (I&D) as an unavoidable interim measure to prevent untreated sewage entering rivers.
Tribunal examining pollution of Katri and Vasudev rivers and Joriya nallah amid concerns they are being treated as drains.
Joint committee says the eco-sensitive zone for Sariska Tiger Reserve is still not finally notified, with 62 hotels operating within 1 km.
APPCB reports that barytes mining in Andhra Pradesh is under scrutiny, with pollution controls tightened and monitoring data now within limits.
Stormwater drains are meant exclusively for carrying stormwater and are not intended to convey or discharge sewage. However, urban sewerage networks in India remain incomplete, and cities continue to have multiple unsewered pockets. Immediate and direct discharge of untreated wastewater must be prevented, and Interception and Diversion (I&D), as an interim measure, is an established engineering intervention.
This was stated in a report filed by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on November 22, 2025.
The NMCG report relates to the pollution of the Katri and Vasudev rivers and the Joriya nallah in Dhanbad, Jharkhand.
On November 4, 2025, the NGT observed that it had been brought to the tribunal’s notice that, within the Dhanbad Municipal area, the Katri and Vasudev rivers and the Joriya nallah are rivers but have been depicted as drains. Further, the rivers are likely to be tapped and treated as drains under a project costing Rs 808 crore.
The NMCG was directed to clarify whether stormwater drains can be tapped and diverted to sewage treatment plants (STP). It was also asked to confirm whether untreated sewage may be discharged into stormwater drains contrary to orders of the NGT and the Supreme Court, and in violation of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
The NMCG has suggested a long-term plan and an interim short-term plan, keeping in view techno-economic feasibility, as part of effective river management governance.
National frameworks, guidelines and knowledge documents support the view that the I&D approach is widely recognised as an interim and unavoidable measure for urban wastewater management and river rejuvenation. During lean flow conditions, which prevail for nine to ten months of the year, I&D ensures untreated wastewater is not discharged directly into rivers, thereby offering critical relief to river systems.
STPs are designed for specific influent pollutant concentrations (mg/l) and hydraulic flow (l/d), jointly referred to as the pollution load (kg/d). This allows some elasticity to accommodate partially increased hydraulic flows with weaker sewage, so long as the overall pollution load remains within the designed capacity.
The report states that “I&D is an accepted transitional solution with a view to pursuing the sewerage and treatment systems as an interim arrangement”.
The Namami Gange Programme succeeded the Ganga Action Plan of 1985. In the interim, several national frameworks — including those of Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Central Pollution Control Board, NITI Aayog and the World Bank — as well as technical organisations such as the Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) and the International Water Association (IWA), have recognised the tapping and diversion of drains to STPs as an unavoidable interim measure to address urban sanitation issues.
The NMCG report noted that several reputed journals and studies, including a March 2025 CSE report published in Down to Earth, demonstrate field evidence that intercepting drains, temporarily diverting flow, and capturing solids and floatable matter can significantly reduce river pollution during sewerage system build-out. This supports the suitability of I&D in high-density, morphologically constrained towns such as those along the Ganga Basin.
The report stated that urban sewerage networks in India are incomplete, and that cities have multiple unsewered pockets. Because immediate and direct discharge of untreated wastewater must be prevented, I&D remains an acknowledged interim engineering intervention. Considering the prevailing urban sanitation conditions within the Ganga Basin, where many cities lack adequate sewerage infrastructure, resulting in unchecked sewage discharge, immediate abatement measures such as I&D are both expedient and necessary as an interim strategy.
During the transition period, the I&D approach stands as an enforceable and essential measure until robust sewerage infrastructure is achieved and made fully operational in accordance with national urban and river management policies.
“Given the explicit recognition in national frameworks and programmatic guidelines such as those issued by the NMCG under the Namami Gange Programme-of the urgent need for city-specific and scalable wastewater management solutions, it is substantiated that the I&D approach is a legally and technically sound response for rapid pollution reduction,” the report stated.
While the NMCG does not subscribe to diverting stormwater to STPs as a principle, it supports I&D as a necessary and unavoidable interim measure until sewerage networks are laid by state governments, municipalities and urban local bodies.
Laying a comprehensive closed sewerage network typically requires more than five years. Adoption of the I&D approach does not imply abandonment of long-term infrastructure development, which continues under central support provided through schemes such as AMRUT and the Swachh Bharat Mission.
According to Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company Ltd, the Vasudev and Katri are classified as rivers and the Joriya as a nallah. While the first two are rivers, interception of their polluted flows is necessitated because of existing wastewater contributions from upstream settlements.
The NMCG report states that the two-phase sewerage plan ensures both immediate interception of polluted flows and long-term elimination of sewage inflow into rivers through a dedicated sewerage network.
Final notification of the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of the Sariska Tiger Reserve has not been issued. A draft ESZ notification was declared on November 2, 2023, according to a report filed by a joint committee before the NGT on November 25, 2025.
The Rajasthan government has initiated the statutory process for rationalising the Critical Tiger Habitat (CTH). A duly constituted committee has examined and approved the proposed rationalisation. The state is currently inviting, scrutinising and addressing objections from stakeholders, and the process of finalising the proposal is under way in line with the Wildlife (Protection) Act and Supreme Court directions.
At present, details are available only for a 1 km radius. A detailed survey for the remaining area must be carried out jointly by the District Administration, the Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) and the Rajasthan Forest Department.
A total of 62 hotels are located within 1 km of the CTH. Of these, 12 have completed land conversion, four hold Tehsildar no-objection certificates, and 46 lack land conversion. Six hotels fall inside the sanctuary and require National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) clearance, which none has obtained. Regarding pollution control compliance, the RSPCB identified the same 62 hotels: 17 hold valid consents to operate (CTO), two have applied for renewal, and show-cause notices have been issued to the remaining 43.
The applicant, Devidas Khatri, stated that hotels and resorts have mushroomed in and around the Sariska Tiger Reserve over the past 10-15 years, increasing the risk of human–wildlife conflict. Establishments have come up without NBWL permission, and despite an 18-year-old Supreme Court direction (December 4, 2006), the ESZ notification has still not been issued.
The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) filed a report before the NGT on November 24, 2025 on measures taken to address complaints of pollution caused by barytes mining that has allegedly harmed agricultural lands in Mangampet panchayat, Obulavaripalli mandal, Annamayya district.
The APPCB report states that the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation (APMDC) has obtained CTO for mining 3 million TPA of barytes in a lease area of 223.31 hectares, and for pulverising 0.1 million TPA of barytes powder. The CTO is valid until December 31, 2027.
The APPCB received complaints of air and water pollution affecting teakwood plantations in Korlakunta village. Officials inspected the area on January 24, 2024, carried out ambient air quality monitoring, and collected borewell water samples.
A notice was issued to APMDC on January 27, 2024 to take corrective measures. After air monitoring results showed exceedance of the 100 microgrammes per cubic metre (µg/m³) standard, a second notice was issued ordering compliance with prescribed limits.
APMDC responded on February 27, 2024, stating that preventive steps were being taken. The dumping yard behind the teak plantation had been closed in 2015, and the area developed into a plantation. The mining unit has installed three continuous ambient air quality monitoring systems.
Online monitoring data showed that average particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM₂.₅) levels from May to October 2025 were within prescribed standards.