Lok Sabha Question No. 3554 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-16
Subject: Pollution in Rivers
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: TAMRADHWAJ SAHU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3554

TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2018

## Pollution in Rivers

3554. SHRI TAMRADHWAJ SAHU:

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

- (a) whether  the  work  for  making  rivers  pollution  free  is  being  done  only  in respect of major rivers of the country;
- (b) the names of rivers in which the work is being done under various projects;
- (c) the amount of funds sanctioned under the said projects and the amount of funds spent so far;

(d) whether  any  such  scheme  has  also  been  formulated  for  Mahanadi,  Arpa and Shivnath rivers in the State of Chhattisgarh which are the life-line of the State; and

- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

(a) to (c) Rivers  in  the  country  are  mainly  polluted  due  to  discharge  of untreated and partially treated  sewage  from cities/towns and industrial effluents. As per the report published by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in February 2015, 302 polluted river stretches have been identified on 275 rivers based on Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels, a key indicator of organic pollution.

It is the responsibility of the State Governments/ concerned local bodies to set  up  proper facilities  for  collection,  transportation  and  treatment  of  sewage  for abatement of pollution of rivers. This Ministry has been supplementing the efforts of  the  State  Governments  in  abatement  of  pollution  in  identified  stretches  of various rivers under the scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), on cost sharing basis between the Central & State Governments.  NRCP {excluding Ganga  and  its  tributaries,  which  are  handled  by  Ministry  of  Water  Resources, River  Development  &  Ganga  Rejuvenation  (MoWR,RD&GR)  from  01/08/2014 onwards} has so far covered polluted stretches of 32 rivers  in 76 towns spread over  14  States  in  the  country  at  a  sanctioned  cost  of  Rs.  4579.56  crore,    and

Central share of Rs. 2236.98 crore has been released to the State Governments for  implementation of various pollution abatement schemes.   Sewage treatment capacity of 2466.43 mld  (million litres per day)  has  been created so far under the NRCP.  State-wise details of rivers  covered,  sanctioned  cost,  funds  released  to various State Governments and treatment capacity created under NRCP so far are given at Annexure.

State Governments, apart from their own budgetary allocation, are also accessing  financial  assistance  for  creation  of  sewerage  infrastructure,  including STPs,  in  various  cities/towns  under  Atal  Mission  for  Rejuvenation  and  Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs as well as Namami Gange programme of MoWR,RD&GR.

To  control  discharge  of  industrial  effluents,  the  Central  Pollution  Control Board and respective State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees monitor industries with respect to effluents discharge standards and take action for non-compliance under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

(d) & (e) Proposals  under  NRCP  are  considered  for  financial  assistance subject to their conformity with scheme Guidelines, pollution status, prioritization, appraisal  by  independent  institutions  and  availability  of  Plan  funds.  So  far,  no proposals  for  abatement  of  pollution  for  rivers  Mahanadi,  Arpa  and  Shivnath  in Chhattisgarh  have  been  received  from  the  State  Government  for  consideration under NRCP.

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## Annexure

## Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3554 to be answered on Friday, the 16 th March, 2018 on 'Pollution in Rivers'

State-wise details of rivers covered under National River Conservation Plan  (excluding Ganga and its tributaries) (As on 28.02.2018)

| S. No.   | State          | Rivers covered                                      |   Sanctioned Cost (Rs. in crore) | Funds Released (Rs. in crore)   | Treatment Capacity created (in mld)   |
|----------|----------------|-----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh | Godavari                                            |                            21.78 |                                 | 30.00                                 |
| 2        | Telangana      | Godavari & Musi                                     |                           345.72 | 259.80                          | 621.46                                |
| 3        | Jharkhand      | Subarnarekha                                        |                             3.14 | 4.26                            | --                                    |
| 4        | Gujarat        | Sabarmati & Mindola                                 |                           808.53 | 333.26                          | 285.00                                |
| 5        | Goa            | Mandovi, Sal                                        |                            75.83 | 12.26                           | 12.50                                 |
| 6        | Karnataka      | Tunga, Bhadra, Tungabhadra, Cauvery & Pennar        |                            66.25 | 47.83                           | 41.64                                 |
| 7        | Maharashtra    | Godavari, Tapi, Krishna, Panchganga & Mula Mutha.   |                          1182.86 | 207.20                          | 260.00                                |
| 8        | Madhya Pradesh | Wainganga, Narmada & Tapti.                         |                            20.16 | 12.46                           | 7.95                                  |
| 9        | Odisha         | Brahmini, Mahanadi & Coastal area (Puri town)       |                            92.74 | 63.40                           | 48.00                                 |
| 10       | Punjab         | Ghaggar, Beas & Satluj                              |                           774.43 | 516.16                          | 659.20                                |
| 11       | Tamil Nadu     | Adyar, Cooum, Vaigai, Vennar, Cauvery & Tamrabarani |                           905.78 | 623.65                          | 477.66                                |
| 12       | Kerala         | Pamba                                               |                            18.45 | 7.78                            | 4.50                                  |
| 13       | Sikkim         | Rani Chu                                            |                           181.09 | 129.42                          | 18.52                                 |
| 14       | Nagaland       | Diphu and Dhansiri                                  |                            82.8  | 19.50                           | --                                    |
| Total    |                |                                                     |                          4579.56 | 2236.98                         | 2466.43                               |