Lok Sabha Question No. 117 (STARRED), answered on 2021-12-06
Subject: Pollution in Bihar
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Rama Devi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. 117

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.12.2021

## Pollution in Bihar

## *117. SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI:

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

- (a) whether the cities of Bihar are facing the problem of rising level of pollution;
- (b) if so, the city-wise details thereof;
- (c) the steps taken by the Government to solve the said problem in these cities; and
- (d) the extent to which the success has been achieved as a result thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER FOR ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI. BHUPENDER YADAV)

(a) to (d) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

***

STATEMENT  REFEERED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARAS  (a)  TO  (d)  OF  THE  LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 117 FOR 06.12.2021 REGARDING 'POLLUTION IN BIHAR' RAISED BY SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI, HON'BLE M.P.

## (a) to (d):

Air pollution and water pollution are the growing environmental challenges globally.

## Air Pollution

Cities in Indo Gangetic Plains face the problem of poor air quality particularly during winter months due to adverse meteorological conditions. Three cities of Bihar,namely Patna, Gaya &Muzaffarpur have been identified as Non-attainment cities under National Clean Air Programme(NCAP)  based  on  air  quality  levels  exceeding  National  Ambient  Air  Quality Standards (NAAQS) for consecutive 05 years.

The analysis of last 3-year air quality data (CAAQMS) of cities in Bihar shows that there is a decline in annual average concentration of PM 2.5 in three cities of Biharin2020 over 2018 levels. Air quality data of Patna, Gaya and Muzaffarpur is enclosed at Annexure I.

Government  of  India  has  launched  National  Clean  Air  Programme  (NCAP)  as  a national level strategy to reduce air pollution levels across the country. City Specific Clean Air Action Plans have been prepared for the above identified 132 non-attainment and million plus cities including three cities of Bihar (Patna, Gaya and Muzaffarpur) and is rolled out for implementation in these cities.

These action plans focus on city specific short/ medium/ long term actions to control air pollution from sources such as vehicular emission, road dust, burning of biomass/ crop/ garbage/  Municipal  Solid  Waste,  landfills,  construction  activities,  industrial  emission,  etc. Further,  Public  Grievance  Redressal  System  and  Graded  Response  Action  Plan  have  been developed, Source Apportionment study has been completed and City level implementation committees have also been constituted to monitor the progress of city action plan at ground level.

Under NCAP, a total amount of Rs. 10.20 Cr and Rs 7.00 Cr was released to Bihar State Pollution Control Board during F.Y. 2019-20 and 2020-21 respectively. Further, under XVFC  an  amount  of  Rs.  204  Cr  for  F.Y.  2020-21  was  released  to  Patna  ULB  for improvement in air quality by Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. The details are annexed at Annexure II.

Further, the several other steps taken by Government to control and minimize air pollution in the countryis at Annexure III:

## Water Pollution

Six polluted river stretches have beenidentified along 6 rivers in the country during the  2018  based  on  exceedance  of  Bathing  Water  Quality  Criteria  parameter  of  BOD (exceeding 3 mg/L), by analysis of water quality data for the years 2016 and 2017.  Details of the six polluted river stretches and the cities/towns identified along the polluted river stretch in Bihar State is at Annexure IV .

Steps  taken  by  the  Government  of  India  for  control  of  water  pollution  are  detailed  at Annexure V.

Ambient Air Quality Data of Bihar 2018-2020

|             | Annual Average Concentration in µg/m 3 (CAAQMS Data)   | Annual Average Concentration in µg/m 3 (CAAQMS Data)   | Annual Average Concentration in µg/m 3 (CAAQMS Data)   | Annual Average Concentration in µg/m 3 (CAAQMS Data)   | Annual Average Concentration in µg/m 3 (CAAQMS Data)   | Annual Average Concentration in µg/m 3 (CAAQMS Data)   | Annual Average Concentration in µg/m 3 (CAAQMS Data)   | Annual Average Concentration in µg/m 3 (CAAQMS Data)   | Annual Average Concentration in µg/m 3 (CAAQMS Data)   |
|-------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------|
| City        | 2018                                                   | 2019                                                   | 2020                                                   | 2018                                                   | 2019                                                   | 2020                                                   | 2018                                                   | 2019                                                   | 2020                                                   |
|             | SO 2                                                   | SO 2                                                   | SO 2                                                   | NO 2                                                   | NO 2                                                   | NO 2                                                   | PM 2.5                                                 | PM 2.5                                                 | PM 2.5                                                 |
| Gaya        | 7                                                      | 13                                                     | 10                                                     | 49                                                     | 31                                                     | 9                                                      | 95                                                     | 83                                                     | 48                                                     |
| Muzaffarpur | 40                                                     | 19                                                     | 16                                                     | 62                                                     | 33                                                     | 22                                                     | 109                                                    | 118                                                    | 74                                                     |
| Patna       | 37                                                     | 42                                                     | 8                                                      | 46                                                     | 42                                                     | 33                                                     | 121                                                    | 106                                                    | 67                                                     |

Annexure-I

## Annexure-II

## Details of Grants received under NCAP during the Financial Year 2019-20 & 2020-21 (Rs in crore)

| S.No   | Cities      | F.Y. 2019-20   | F.Y. 2019-20   | F.Y. 2019-20   | F.Y. 2020-21   | F.Y. 2020-21   | F.Y. 2020-21   | F.Y. 2020-21     |
|--------|-------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|------------------|
|        |             | 1 st           | 2 nd           | Total          | 3 rd           | 4 th           | Total          | Total Cumulative |
| 1.     | Patna       | 6.00           | 4.00           | 10.20          |                |                | 7.00           | 17.20            |
| 2.     | Gaya        | 0.06           | 0.04           | 10.20          | 2.00           |                | 7.00           |                  |
| 3.     | Muzaffarpur | 0.06           | 0.04           | 10.20          | 5.00           |                | 7.00           |                  |

Details of Grants received under 15thFinance Commission during the F. Y. 2020-21 (Rs. in Crores)

|       |        | FY:2020-21       | FY:2020-21       | FY:2020-21   |
|-------|--------|------------------|------------------|--------------|
| S.No. | Cities | 1 st Installment | 2 nd Installment | Total        |
| 1.    | Patna  | 102              | 102              | 204          |

## Vehicular Emission

-  Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI norms for fuel and vehicles since April, 2020.
-  Network of metro rails for public transport are enhanced and more cities are covered.
-  Development of Expressway and Highways are also reducing the fuel consumption and pollution.
-  Introduction of cleaner/alternate fuels like CNG, LPG, ethanol blending in petrol.
-  Faster  Adoption  and  Manufacturing  of  Electric  Vehicles  (FAME)  -2  scheme  has  been rolled out.
-  Permit requirement for electric vehicles has been exempted.
-  Promotion of public transport and improvements in roads and building of more bridges to ease congestion on roads.

## Industrial Emission

-  Stringent emission norms for Coal based Thermal Power Plants (TPPs).
-  Shifting of industrial units to PNG.
-  Installation of online continuous  emission  monitoring  devices  in  highly  polluting industries.
-  Shifting of brick kilns to zig-zag technology for reduction of pollution

## Air Pollution due to dust and burning of waste

-  Notifications of 6 waste management rules covering solid waste, plastic waste, e-waste, bio-medical waste, C&D waste and hazardous waste.
-  Setting up infrastructure such as waste processing plants.
-  Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for plastic and e-waste management.
-  Ban on burning of biomass/garbage.

## Monitoring of Ambient Air Quality

-  Expansion of air quality monitoring network of manual as well as continuous monitoring stations under programmes such as National Air Monitoring Programme (NAMP).
-  Initiation  of  pilot  projects  to  assess  alternate  ambient  monitoring  technologies  such  as low-cost sensors and satellite-based monitoring.

## Monitoring implementation of NCAP

-  Government  has  launched  National  Clean  Air  Programme  (NCAP)  as  a  national  level strategy to reduce air pollution levels across the country. City Specific Clean Air Action Plans  have  been  prepared  and  rolled  out  forimplementation  in132  non-attainment  and million plus cities.
-  ₹ 375.44 crores have been sanctioned to non-attainment cities under NCAP for initiating actions  such  as  expansion  of  monitoring  network,  construction  and  demolition  waste management facilities, non-motorised transport infrastructure, green buffers, mechanical street sweepers, composting units etc.
-  As  per  the  Fifteenth  Finance  commission  recommendations  ₹4400  crores  have  been released in the Budget of FY 2020-21 to tackle the burgeoning problem of air pollution for 42 urban centres with a million-plus population. Further, an amount of ₹12,139 crores has been allocated for improvement of air quality for the award period FY 2021-26.
-  City  Specific  Action  Plans  for  improvement  of  air  quality  has  been  prepared  and approved for implementation.
-  Implementation of the city specific action plans are regularly monitored by Committees at Central and State level namely Steering Committee, Monitoring Committee  and Implementation Committee.
-  PRANA a portal for monitoring implementation of NCAP has been launched.

## Annexure IV

|   S. No | River Name   | Stretch Identified         | Cities/ Towns Identified Along The Polluted Stretch       |
|---------|--------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
|       1 | Parmar       | Along Jogbani              | Jogbani                                                   |
|       2 | Ganga        | Buxar To Bhagalpur         | Buxar, Patna, Bhagalpur                                   |
|       3 | Poonpun      | Gaurichak To Fatuha        | Jujharpur, Fatehpur, Madhopur, Sadullahpur, Fatuha, Patna |
|       4 | Ram Rekha    | Harinagar To Ramnagar      | Ramnagar, Harunagar                                       |
|       5 | Sikrahna     | Along Narkatiaganj         | Narkatiaganj                                              |
|       6 | Sirsia       | RuxolToKoireaTola (Raxaul) | Raxaul                                                    |

## Annexure V

-  Govt. of India enacted The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and various  provisions  under  The  Environment  (Protection)  Act,  1986  for  protection  of water bodies.
-  The Central & State Pollution Control Boards are implementing the provisions of both The  Water  (Prevention  and  Control  of  Pollution)  Act,  1974  &  The  Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to prevent and control pollution of aquatic resources
-  Regulation  of  industrial  Pollution  is  implemented  through  various  provisions  of  The Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 under Consent mechanism by the respective State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and Pollution Control Committee (PCC).
-  Directions  have  been  issued  under  Section  5  of  The  Environment  (Protection)  Act, 1986 regarding 'Treatment and Utilization of Sewage for Restoration of water quality of River' to Municipal Corporations of 46 Metropolitan cities and 20 State Capitals in October, 2015.
-  Directions  have  been  issued  under  Section18  (1)  (b)  of  The  Water  (Prevention  and Control  of  Pollution)  Act,  1974  regarding  treatment  &  utilization  of  sewage  to  all SPCBs/PCCs in April, 2015.
-  Directions  have  been  issued  under  Section18  (1)  (b)  of  The  Water  (Prevention  and Control  of  Pollution)  Act,  1974  on  13.8.2019  regarding  non-compliance  status  of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) to SPCBs/PCCs.
-  Online  Continuous  Effluent  Monitoring  Systems  (OCEMS)  are  installed  by  the industrial units in the country through directives for getting real time information on the effluent quality and non-complying unit were identified for follow-up inspections and actions.
-  Government  of  India  stipulated  General  discharge  standards  and  industry  specific effluent discharge standards under The Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 with an aim to prevent pollution in the water bodies.
-  Industrial  estate  and  clusters  numbering  100  were  assessed  in  the  country  to  assess Comprehensive Environmental Pollution Index (CEPI) in 2018. Based on Comprehensive  Environmental  Pollution  Index  (CEPI)  score,  the  critically  polluted areas are identified to take necessary measures through time-targeted Action Plans.
-  Under  AMRUT  and  Repair,  Renovation  and  Restoration  (RRR)  schemes,  Govt.  of India  is  supporting  States  on  cost  sharing  basis  for  development  of  infrastructure  for sewage management and rejuvenating polluted rivers.
-  Various  programmes  like  National  Lake  Conservation  Programme  (NLCP),  National River Conservation Programme (NRCP) have been launched by Government of India for  restoration  of  water  bodies  including  enhancement  in  ground  water  levels  in  the country  apart  from  training  programmes  to  the  stakeholders  under  the  National Hydrology Project.