Lok Sabha Question No. 1978 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-09
Subject: Pollution in River Ganga
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Rajendra Agrawal

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI, DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1978 ANSWERED ON 09.12.2021

## POLLUTION IN RIVER GANGA

## 1978.         SHRI RAJENDRA AGRAWAL

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the details of assessment of pollution in rivers in Uttar Pradesh specifically river Ganga;

(b) whether the pollution in rivers is mainly due to discharge of effluents from industries;

- (c) if so, the details thereof; and

(d) the steps taken by the Government to tackle the issue of river pollution?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)

(a) Under  the  Namami  Gange  Programme,  Central  Pollution  Control  Board  (CPCB)  is  carrying  out monitoring  for  assessment  of  River  Ganga  water  quality  at  30  locations  in  Uttar  Pradesh  through  Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board. River water quality is assessed for notified primary water quality criteria for  bathing  water  w.r.t  parameters  potential  Hydrogen  (pH)  (6.5-8.5),  Dissolved  Oxygen  (≥  5  mg/l), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (≤ 3 mg/l) and Faecal Coliforms (≤ 2500 MPN/100 ml). All the locations in Uttar Pradesh are monitored on fortnightly basis.

Based on the manual water quality assessment by CPCB's in 2021 (Jan to May), pH (median) and DO (median) are meeting the primary water quality criteria for bathing at all the monitoring locations in Uttar  Pradesh.  Biochemical  Oxygen  Demand  (BOD)  has  been  found  within  the  acceptable  limits  except marginal exceedance (BOD: 3.1 to 4.1 mg/L) in locations/stretches (a) Bithoor, Kanpur to Kala Kankar, Rai Bareilly and (b) from Down stream (D/s) Mirzapur to Tarighat, Ghazipur (except (U/s) Varanasi, Assighat). Faecal Coliforms (FC) (median) is meeting the primary water quality criteria for bathing in the entire stretch of  river  in  Uttar  Pradesh  except  (i)  Up  Stream  (U/s)  Kanpur  (Ranighat),  Shuklaganj D/s to Bathing Ghat (Jajmau bridge) (ii) Down stream (D/s) Mirzapur to Tarighat, Ghazipur (except U/s Varanasi, Assighat).

(b) & (c)  The pollution in river Ganga is not only due to discharge of effluents from industries but also due to domestic waste water as well as from solid waste ingress into the river.

As per the inventorization of 2020-21, 913 Grossly Polluting industries (GPIs) discharging into river Ganga in the State of Uttar Pradesh were inspected by CPCB through 16 third party technical institutes and  respective  actions  are  already  taken  by  State  Pollution  Control  Boards  (SPCBs)/  Pollution  Control Committee (PCC). As per CPCB's data on Grossly Polluting industries (GPIs) inspection in 2020-21, it is observed that about 139.419 Million Litres per Day (MLD) effluents is being discharged into river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh having BOD load of 4.58 Tons Per Day (TPD).

(d) The steps taken by the Government to tackle the pollution of river Ganga are as follows:

Under Namami Gange Programme, a diverse set of interventions for cleaning and rejuvenation of river  Ganga  and  its  tributaries  have  been  taken  up.  These  includes  pollution  abatement  activities  including domestic  sewage,  industrial  effluent,  solid  waste,  River  front  Management,  Aviral  Dhara,  Rural  Sanitation, Afforestation,  Biodiversity  Conservation,  Public  Participation  etc.  A  total  of  353  projects  are  taken  up  at  a sanctioned cost of Rs.30,458 crore out of which, 178 projects have been completed.

The polluted river stretches in the country are being rejuvenated through approved action plans to achieve the target of outdoor bathing criteria notified by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC).  At  present,  State Governments  are implementing Action Plans drawn  by State River Rejuvenation  Committees  for  restoration  of  water  quality  of  the  identified  polluted  river  stretches.  The implementation is being monitored regularly at State level by Chief Secretary of the respective State/UT and at Central  level  by  the  Central  Monitoring  Committee  under  the  Chairmanship  of  Secretary,  Ministry  of  Jal Shakti.

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.

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.

Further, the identification and assessment of quality and quantity of major drains joining river Ganga and  its  tributaries,  establishment/upgradation  of  Waste  Water  Treatment  Plants  (STPs  and  CETPs)  for  the towns  located  on  Ganga  main  stem  and  its  tributaries,  performance  evaluation  of  those  Sewage  Treatment Plants (STPs) and Common Effluent Treatment Plans (CETPs) are undertaken.

Construction works are under progress for 20 MLD Common Effluent Treatment Plan (CETP) for Jajmau tannery cluster Kanpur, largest of its type in the country, for pollution abatement in River Ganga at a cost  of  Rs.617  crore.   This  addresses  a  long-standing  challenge  posed  to  river  Ganga  due  to  pollution  from tannery cluster in Jajmau area.

Up-gradation  projects  for  other  CETPs  have  been  sanctioned  in  the  tannery  clusters  of  Unnao, Banther and textile cluster at Mathura..

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