Lok Sabha Question No. 1936 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-29
Subject: Waste Water Treatment Plants
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Thomas Chazhikadan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOKSABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1936

TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2019

## Waste Water Treatment Plants

## 1936. SHRI THOMAS CHAZHIKADAN:

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

- (a) whether the number and capacity of waste water treatment plants set up in the country are  inadequate  for the treatment  of  waste  water/sewage  and  statistically,  only  thirty per cent of sewage is treated, State/UT-wise;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (c) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  augment  waste  water  treatment  capacity  and promote reuse of waste water after treatment;
- (d) whether  most  of  the  sewage  treatment  plants  in  operation  across  the  country  are obsolete  and  are  suitable  for  treating  only  the  biological  and  not  the  chemical components of waste water; and
- (e) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  efforts  taken/planned  to  upgrade  the  water  treatment technology in the existing plants?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI BABUL SUPRIYO)

(a) & (b) According  to  the  estimation  of  Central  Pollution  Control  Board  (CPCB) during2015,  62,000  Million  Litre  per  Day  (MLD)  wastewater  (sewage)  is  generated  from urban centres of India. A total of 23,277 MLD treatment capacity has installed through 816 Sewage  Treatment  Plants  (STPs).Out  of  816  STPs  at  present,  522  STPs  are  functional whereas 145 STPsare  under construction,  79  STPS are non-operational or under renovation and 70  STPs  are proposed to be installed .

(c) to  (e)  Setting  up  ofwastewater  (sewage)  treatment  plants  (STPs)  to  tackle  the  steady increase  in  sewage  generation  in  the  country  due  to  high  population  growth  and  rapid urbanization  is  a  long  term  continuous  process  which  involves  the  collective  effort  of  the Central and State Governments. It is the responsibility of the State Governments/ concerned local bodies to set up facilities for collection, transportation and treatment of sewage.

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  andUrban Affairs as well as Namami Gange programme  of  Ministry of Jal Shakti.In addition to this, Ministry of Jal Shakti is alsosupplementing  the  efforts  of  the  State  Governments  in  abatement  of  pollution  in identified stretches of various rivers, including setting up of STPs, under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), on cost sharing basis between the Central and State Governments

CPCB  has  issued  directions  under  Section  18  1(b)  of  the  Water  (Prevention  and Control  of  Pollution)  Act,  1974  in  April,  2015  to  all  the  State  Pollution  Control  Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in the country to make it mandatory for local bodies  to  establish  STPs  of  adequate  capacity  and  provide  sewerage  system  to  cover  the entire  local/urban  areas  to  bridge  the  treatment  capacity  gap  alongwith  enforcement  of standards  for  sewage  treatment.  CPCB  has  also  issued  directions  in  October,  2015  to municipal  authorities  of  66  metropolitan  cities  and  State  capitals  under  Section  5  of  the Environment  (Protection)  Act,  1986  to  ensure  proper  treatment  and  disposal  of  sewage generated for abatement of pollution of rivers.

Adoption of decentralized or centralised STPs are decided by the State Governments/concerned local bodies based on sewage generation and other local conditions such  as  availability  of  land  and  regular  power  for  the  STP,  configuration  of  the  existing sewerage system, topography of the area, treatment technology selected, etc.  Further, STPs are  designed  to  reduce  Chemical  Oxygen  Demand  (COD),  Biochemical  Oxygen  Demand (BOD), Suspended Solids (SS) of sewage.

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