Lok Sabha Question No. 174 (STARRED), answered on 2022-03-14
Subject: Pollution in Kanpur
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Ashok Kumar Rawat

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

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO. *174

TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.03.2022

## Pollution in Kanpur

## *174.  SHRI ASHOK KUMAR RAWAT:

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

- (a) whether Kanpur ranks 109th in the list of most polluted cities of the world;
- (b) whether  the  factories  located  in  village  Malegram,  Block  Chaubepur,  District  Kanpur under Misrikh Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh are causing heavy pollution owing  to  which,  the  people  of  the  area  are  suffering  from  serious  diseases  such  as asthma,  lung  and  heart  diseases  and  respiratory  allergies  and  crops  are  also  getting damaged due to polluted water; and
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  taken  or  proposes  to  take  any  steps  to  make  Misrikh Parliamentary Constituency pollution-free?

## ANSWER

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

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

***

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARAS (A) TO (C) OF THE LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *174 FOR 14.03.2022 REGARDING 'POLLUTION  IN  KANPUR'  RAISED  BY  SHRI ASHOK  KUMAR  RAWAT, HON'BLE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT.

(a ) to ( c)   There is no established mechanism for ranking the cities in terms of pollution. It also requires authentic data and proper peer review. The Government is aware that several private  institutions  and  universities  are  ranking  cities  adopting  different  methodologies, different data set and using different weightages to parameters.  The data used for ranking is extracted  primarily  from  satellite  imageries,  which  are  not  validated  by  proper  ground truthing.

Pollution  is  one  of  the  triggering  factors  for  respiratory  ailments  and  associated diseases. There is no conclusive data available in the country to establish direct correlation of death/  disease  exclusively  due  to  pollution.  Health  effects  of  pollution  are  synergistic manifestation  of  factors,  which  include  food  habits,  occupational  habits,  socio-economic status, medical history, immunity, heredity, etc., of the individuals.

As  per  the  information  received  from  Government  of  Uttar  Pradesh,  no  complaint regarding  pollution  caused  by  factories  located  in  village  Malegram,  Block  Chaubepur, District Kanpur under Misrikh Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh is reported.  Nine polluting  industries  located  in  Mandhana,  Chaubepur  area  near  village  Malau  are  in compliance  with  the  stipulated  environmental  norms.  No  complaint  has  been  received  by Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board in this regard. As per District Agriculture Office report dated 14.09.2020 no damage  is observed on crops due to industrial activities.

The Government has taken several steps to combat air pollution, water pollution and agricultural land pollution, which include:

-  Notification of National Ambient Air Quality Standards,
-  Notification of Emission standards for industrial sectors from time to time,
-  Setting up of monitoring network for assessment of ambient air quality,
-  Introduction of cleaner / alternate fuels like gaseous fuel (CNG, LPG etc.),
-  Launching of National Air Quality index,
-  Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI fuel standards.

Notifications of waste management rules/regulations which include:

-  Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016,
-  E-Waste Management Rules, 2016,
-  Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016,
-  Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016,
-  Construction and Demolition Waste Management Rules 2016,
-  Utilization of Ash from Coal and Lignite based Thermal Power Plant 2021.

For  abatement  of  water  pollution  and  chemical  pollution,  the  steps  taken  by  the Government include formulation and notification of standards for effluents from industries and sewage treatment plants into land masses/water bodies. Enforcing of these standards by State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) through a consent mechanism to establish/operate; setting  up  of  monitoring  network  for  assessment  of  water  quality;  promotion  of  cleaner production processes, etc.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and SPCB are empowered under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for taking all necessary action for improvement of condition of environment.