Lok Sabha Question No. 306 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-08
Subject: Water Quality of Ganga River
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: P.R. Natarajan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

## DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 306

ANSWERED ON 08.12.2022

## WATER QUALITY OF GANGA RIVER

306 SHRI NATARAJAN P.R.

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:-

(a)  whether the  Government has undertaken an analysis on the water quality of holy Ganga river in the recent past;

(b) if so, the details of the analysis undertaken during the pre and post covid-19 period; and (c) whether the Government has taken any decision in this regard and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) Yes Sir, under the Namami Gange Programme, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is carrying out water  quality  assessment  of  the  River  Ganga  at  97  locations  in  5  main  stem  Ganga  States  through  the respective State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs).

(b) Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has informed that based on water quality monitoring of river Ganga being carried out for pre-covid 19 as well as post covid-19 period and studies conducted by them and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and other agencies assess the impact of lockdown on the water quality of river Ganga and its tributaries, it has been observed that no definite trend exists in different water quality  parameters  observed  for  various  stretches  of  river  Ganga  and  its  tributaries.  However,  varying degrees of improvement in water quality is observed in river Ganga water Quality and number of polluted stretches have come down as per CPCB and SPCB reports which may be attributed to various factors such as  increased  availability  of  fresh  water  due  to  rain  fall  in  the  river  catchment,  no  industrial  effluent discharge and reduced human activity such as bathing, ritual disposal, restricted tourism, solid waste, mass washing of clothes etc. during lockdown period. As per CPCB report of 2018, there were four Polluted

Stretches on main stem of river Ganga (one stretch in Priority Category III, two stretch in Priority Category IV and one stretch under Priority Category V, where Priority Category I being most polluted). Now, as per river water quality data of 2021, none of the Ganga Stretches are in Priority Category I to IV and only two stretches are in Priority Category V with Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) ranging between 3-6 mg/l, as per CPCB categorization of polluted stretch. With the various interventions taken up under the Namami Gange Programme, the  water  quality  of  river  Ganga  has  remarkably  improved  across  various  erstwhile polluted stretches of river Ganga.

(c) During lockdown, it was ensured thatall the sewage treatment plants continue to function without any interruption.  Guidelines  were  issued  to  follow  all  safety  precautions  while  continuing  the  operation  of STPs. The various interventions for abatement of pollutions of rivers have been continued.Some of them are given below:

- i) Financial  assistance  is  being  provided  to  States  for  setting  up  of  sewage  infrastructure  and  other pollution abatement activities under Namami Gange and National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) of ministry of Jal Shakti as well as AMRUT & Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of housing & Urban Affairs.
2. ii) State Government have formulated river action plans to restore water quality of polluted river stretches for intercepting, diverting and treatment of municipal wastewater from urban centres.
3. iii) Regulation of industrial Pollution is implemented through various provisions of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 under Consent mechanism by the respective State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and Pollution Control Committees (PCC).
4. iv) Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) are installed by 17- categories of industries and Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) being established on industrial units in the country through the directives issued by CPCB for getting real time information on the effluent quality and non-complying units were identified and actions were taken against these units.

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