Lok Sabha Question No. 2077 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-11-29
Subject: Rivers under NRCP
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: ADVOCATE NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2077

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2016

## Rivers under NRCP

## 2077.  ADV. NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether a proposal to bring all the rivers under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), is under consideration;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the total number of rivers in the country and the existing arrangement for management thereof;
- (d) whether it  is  a  fact  that  majority  of  the  rivers  are  being  managed  by  the  Ministry  of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and if so, the views of the other Ministry in this regard; and
- (e) whether the said proposal is likely to enable the Government to evolve an integrated approach  for  conservation  of  water  resources  and  more  effective  utilisation  of  budgetary allocation?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  FOR  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ANIL MADHAV DAVE)

(a) to (e) The  Water  Resources  Information  System  (WRIS)  database  developed  by Central Water Commission along with Indian Space Research Organisation includes 15,615 numbers of identified rivers/streams in the country.  Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with the State Pollution Control Boards is monitoring the water quality of rivers in the country on a regular basis. As per a report published by CPCB in February, 2015, 302 polluted  river  stretches  have  been  identified  on  275  rivers  based  on  Bio-chemical  Oxygen Demand (BOD) level in rivers, a key indicator of organic pollution.

Conservation  of  rivers  is  an  ongoing  and  collective  effort  of  the  Central  and  State Governments. This Ministry has been supplementing the efforts of the State Governments in abatement  of  pollution  in  identified  stretches  of  various  rivers  under  the  programmes  of National  River  Conservation  Plan  (NRCP)  and  NGRBA  (National  Ganga  River  Basin Authority) for  implementation  of  projects  on  cost  sharing  basis  between  Central  and  State Governments. As per the amendment to the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961,  the  NGRBA  programme  along with  work of Ganga & its tributaries has been

transferred  to  Ministry  of  Water  Resources,  River  Development  &  Ganga  Rejuvenation (MoWR,  RD&GR)  from  01.08.2014  onwards.  Presently,  NRCP  (excluding  Ganga  and  its tributaries) has covered polluted stretches of 31 rivers in 75 towns spread over 14 States at a sanctioned  cost  of  Rs.  4517.82  crore.  So  far,  an  amount  of  Rs.  2056.58  crore  has  been released  to  various  State  Governments  for  implementation  of  various  pollution  abatement schemes  and  a  treatment  capacity  of  2373  million  litres  per  day  (mld)  has  been  created under NRCP (excluding Ganga and its tributaries). There is no proposal of this Ministry to bring all rivers under the ambit of NRCP.

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