Lok Sabha Question No. 1326 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-09
Subject: Assessment of Pollution in Rivers
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Nihal Chand Chauhan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †1326

ANSWERED ON 09.02.2023

## ASSESSMENT OF POLLUTION IN RIVERS

†1326. SHRI NIHAL CHAND

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  has  conducted/  proposed  to  conduct  any  assessment  regarding  the untreated dirty water and industrial waste flowing into the rivers of the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c)  whether  concrete  steps  have  been  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  regarding  any scheme in coordination with other Ministries to solve the said water related problem?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) to (c) Rivers in the country are polluted mainly due to discharge of untreated or partially treated sewage from cities/towns/ local bodies and industrial effluents in their respective catchments, problems in  operation and maintenance of sewage/ effluent treatment plants (STPs), lack of dilution and other non-point sources of pollution. Urbanization and Industrialization have compounded the problems.  As per  the  report  published  by  CPCB  in  March,  2021,  sewage  generation  from  areas  in  the  country  is estimated at 72,368 million litres per day (mld), against which a treatment capacity of 31,841 mld is available  with  the  State/UT  and  an  operational  capacity  of  sewage  treatment  plant  was  found  to  be 26,869 mld.

It  is  the  responsibility  of  the  States/Union  Territories  (UTs),  local  bodies  and  industrial  units  to ensure required treatment of sewage and industrial effluents to the prescribed norms before discharging into rivers and other water bodies, coastal waters or land to prevent and control of pollution therein.

For  conservation  of  rivers,  the  Department  of  Water  Resources,  River  Development  &  Ganga Rejuvenation (DoWR, RD & GR) has been supplementing the efforts of the States/UTs by providing financial  and  technical  assistance  for  abatement  of  pollution  in  identified  stretches  of  rivers  in  the country through the Central Sector Scheme of Namami Gange Programme for rivers in Ganga basin, and the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for other rivers. In addition,  sewerage  infrastructure  is  created  under  programme  like  Atal  Mission  for  Rejuvenation  & Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affair.

Steps taken by the Government to stop discharge of industrial effluents into rivers inter alia include issuance  of  notification  of  specific  discharge  standards,  revision  of  the  criteria  for  categorization  of industries  and  issuing  directions  to  all   SPCBs/PCCs  to  adopt  the  same,  issuance  of  consent  to establish/consent to operate by the SPCBs/PCCs, regular and surprise inspections of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) for compliance verification against stipulated environmental norms, and installation of Online  Continuous  Effluent  Monitoring  System  (OCEMS)  for  assessment  of  effluent  quality  and compliance status. In addition, the industries are encouraged to reduce their waste water generation by technological  advancement,  reuse/recycle  of  wastewater  and  maintain  Zero  Liquid  Discharge  (ZLD) where ever possible.

As per the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution), Act 1974, industrial units are required to install effluent treatment plants (ETPs) and treat their  effluents  to  comply  with  stipulated  environmental  standards  before  discharging  into  river  and water  bodies.  Accordingly, CPCB,  State  Pollution  Control  Boards  (SPCBs)  and  Pollution  Control Committees (PCCs) monitor industries with respect to effluent discharge standards and take punitive action for non-compliance under provisions of these Acts.

Besides, in compliance  of the orders of National Green Tribunal (NGT) in Original Application No.673/2018 regarding rejuvenation of polluted river stretches in the country, States/UTs are required to  implement  approved  action  plans  for  restoration  of  the  polluted  stretches  in  their  jurisdiction  as identified by CPCB and published in their report of 2018, within the stipulated timelines. As per the orders of NGT, regular review on implementation of action plans is undertaken in the States/UTs and also at Central level.

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