Lok Sabha Question No. 1328 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-09
Subject: Pollution in Yamuna River
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Ramesh Bidhuri

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI, REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1328

ANSWERED ON 09.02.2023

## POLLUTION IN YAMUNA RIVER

## 1328. SHRI RAMESH BIDHURI

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) whether it is a fact that the untreated domestic sewage is the main reason for the pollution in River Yamuna during its flow in NCR region;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c)  the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  overcome/resolve  this  problem  along with the cleaning of Yamuna river;
- (d) whether any direction has been issued to the Government of NCT in this regard; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) & (b) The main reasons for pollution in river Yamuna in NCR region are discharges of untreated domestic & industrial flow as well as from solid waste ingress into the river and availability of less flowing water (downstream of Wazirabad).

As informed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), water quality of River Yamuna is monitored  by  CPCB  under  National  Water  Quality  Monitoring  Programme  (NWMP)  in  association with State Polllution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh at 33 locations.

The analysis of water quality data of river Yamuna based on concentration of BOD during 20192021 revealed that highest concentration of BOD is observed in river Yamuna in Delhi during all the three  years  (i.e.,  from  2019-  2021)  followed  by  downstream  Uttar  Pradesh  locations.  Maximum concentration observed is 114 mg/L during 2020. The details are as under:

| State                                              | year                                               | BOD    | BOD    |
|----------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|--------|--------|
|                                                    |                                                    | Min    | Max    |
| Primary Water Quality Criteria for Outdoor Bathing | Primary Water Quality Criteria for Outdoor Bathing | <3mg/L | <3mg/L |
| HARYANA                                            | 2019                                               | 1.0    | 14.0   |
| HARYANA                                            | 2020                                               | 1.0    | 9.1    |
| HARYANA                                            | 2021                                               | 1.2    | 21.0   |
| DELHI                                              | 2019                                               | 1.7    | 63.0   |
| DELHI                                              | 2020                                               | 1.4    | 114.0  |
| DELHI                                              | 2021                                               | 2.5    | 83.0   |
| UTTAR PRADESH                                      | 2019                                               | 1.9    | 47.0   |
| UTTAR PRADESH                                      | 2020                                               | 1.8    | 59.0   |
| UTTAR PRADESH                                      | 2021                                               | 1.9    | 36.0   |

As per the data submitted by DPCC, the total sewage generation in Delhi is 3491 MLD, whereas the  total  installed  capacity  of  35  STPs  are  2874  MLD  (82.32%)  with  2714  MLD  being  operational capacity. In addition, there are 13 Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) with a total capacity of 212.3 MLD is existing in Delhi to treat industrial wastewater generated from industries.

(c) As  per  NGT  directions,  a  High  Level  Committee  (HLC)  has  been  constituted  under  the chairmanship of Hon'ble  Lieutenant  Governor,  Delhi  to  coordinate  with  all  departments  involved  in Yamuna rejuvenation.

Action plans for rejuvenation of rivers have been prepared by 'River Rejuvenation Committee'' (RRC)  constituted by the respective State Government/UT  Administration, under the overall supervision  and  coordination  of  Principal  Secretary,  Environment  of  the  concerned  State/Union Territory, including river Yamuna.

Presently in  Delhi, under Namami Gange Programme, a total of 11 projects have been taken up with an estimated cost of Rs.2009.12 crore to abate the pollution in river Yamuna. These projects are at various stages of implementation. These projects envisage creation of 1268 MLD of sewage treatment capacities in Delhi to bridge the gap in treatment capacity.

Stringent monitoring and regulation of industries and pollution sources is undertaken to assess the compliance  status  of  Grossly  Polluting  Industries  (GPIs)  for  enforcing  regulatory  framework  on  the polluting  industries.  Stringent  action  is  taken  by  Central  Pollution  Control  Board  (CPCB)/State Pollution  Control  Boards  (SPCBs)/  Pollution  Control  Committees  against  the  GPIs  discharging  into main stem of Ganga River  & its tributaries  which  are  non-complying  with  respect  to  the  prescribed norms.

Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  &  Climate  Change  (MoEF&  CC)  formulates  and  notifies standards for emission or discharge of environmental pollutants viz. air pollutants and water pollutants from  industries,  operations  or  processes  with  an  aim  to  protect  and  improve  the  quality  of  the environment and abate environmental pollution.

Industry specific effluent/emission standards are notified under Schedule-I: 'Standards for Emission or Discharge of Environmental Pollutants from Various Industries' of Environment Protection Act,  1986.  State  Pollution  Control  Boards  and  Pollution  Control  Committees  in  States  and  Union Territories,  respectively  are  adhered to  ensure the compliance of these standards. So  far, 47 industry specific effluent standards and 63 industry specific emission standards have been notified.

Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) regulates industrial pollution through consent mechanism. DPCC has notified stricter norms for sewage treatment in Delhi.

NMCG has been  organizing  regular  Yamuna  Ghat  cleaning  campaigns  on  certain  Saturdays  of every month for cleaning the seven Ghats in Yamuna in association with different volunteering civil society groups, citizens and other stake holders.

(d) & (e) Directions were issued by the Ministry of Jal Shakti to Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) dated 16.08.2018 under Section 5 of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 against sub-optimal functioning of CETPs as well as reutilization of treated waste water in the State of Delhi. In addition, as reported by CPCB, directions were also issued to Delhi Jal Board (DJB) dated 19.02.2019 under the said Act against non-complying sewage treatment plants operating in Delhi.

Central  Monitoring  Committee  under  the  Chairmanship  of  Secretary,  Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti  has been  monitoring  the  progress  in  implementation  of  Action  Plan  for  the  State  of  Delhi  including sewerage  projects  for  abatement  of  pollution  in  the  river  Yamuna  in  a  time  bound  manner.  The Committee has also directed the NCT of Delhi for completing their initiatives without any further delay.

The State Government of Delhi has been directed to ensure compliance of the existing STPs and CETPs and to take strict action against the non-complying industries. Time bound action plan needs to be implemented to bridge the gap in solid waste management in the State.

The directions/guidelines issued by CPCB in recent years, for prevention & control of pollution in river Yamuna are given at Annexure.

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## ANNEXURE

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (d) & (e) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1328 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 09.03.2023 REGARDING 'POLLUTION IN YAMUNA RIVER'.

- 1) National  Mission  for  Clean  Ganga  (NMCG)  vide  letter  dated  11.03.2022  issued  directions  to Chief Secretary, Government of Haryana, Government of NCT, Delhi and Chairman, Pollution Control  Board  (PCB)  regarding  industrial  Ammonical  Nitrogen  discharge  from  Haryana  and Delhi into river Yamuna.
- 2) On 23.12.2021, CPCB issued directions under Section 18 (1) (b) of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 regarding industrial Ammonical discharge in to river Yamuna to DPCC and HSPCB.
- 3) On 06.12.2021, CPCB issued directions under Section 18 (1) (b) of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 in the matter of control of pollution in river Yamuna to DPCC, HSPCB and UPPCB.
- 4) On 24.09.2021, CPCB issued directions under Section 18 (1) (b) of the Water (Prevention and Control  of  Pollution)  Act,  1986  for  ensuring  100%  collection  and  treatment  of  domestic  and industrial waste waters generated in the catchment of Shahdara drain to DPCC.
- 5) On 11.03.2021, CPCB issued directions under Section 18 (1) (b) of the Water (Prevention and Control  of  Pollution)  Act,  1974  for  installation  &  connectivity  of  Online  continuous  effluent monitoring systems (OCEMS) by GPIs to HSPCB, DPCC & UPPCB.
- 6) On 15.02.2021, CPCB issued directions under Section 18 (1) (b) of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 for wider use of Mobile based application on STP monitoring to all SPCB/ PCCs.
- 7) On 26.11.2020, CPCB issued directions under Section 18 (1) b of the Water (Prevention and Control  of  Pollution)  Act,  1974,  regarding  non-compliance  of  CETPs  in  Delhi,  to  Delhi Pollution Control Committee.
- 8) On 26.11.2020, CPCB issued directions under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986  to  Delhi  Jal  Board  for  ensuring  100%  collection  and  treatment  of  domestic  wastewater generated in the region of NCT of Delhi.
- 9) CPCB  issued  indicative guidelines for restoration of water bodies as guidance to the Stakeholders  for  ensuring  restoration/rejuvenation  of  water  bodies,  including  small  rivers flowing through district headquarters, cities and industrial areas in regard to Hon'ble NGT vide order dated 10.5.2019 in O. A. No 325 of 2015.
- 10) CPCB  issued  'Revised  Guidelines  for  idol  immersion  to  SPCBs/  PCCs  vide  letter  dated 12.05.2020, effective from 01.01.2021.
- 11) Apart from above, regarding industrial ammonical discharge in to river Yamuna, CPCB issued direction  to  Delhi  Pollution  Control  Committee  (DPCC)  under  section  18(1)(b)  of  the  Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. DPCC directed to issue appropriate directions to the GPIs generating effluent containing high ammonical nitrogen and nitrate to submit time bound action plan to  curtail  generation  of  ammonical  nitrogen,  nitrate  and  phosphate  in  their effluent through adoption of cleaner technology, waste minimization practices and upgradation of ETP system.

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