Lok Sabha Question No. 1325 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-09
Subject: Rise in Pollution of Rivers
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Kaushalendra Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †1325

## ANSWERED ON 09.02.2023

## RISE IN POLLUTION OF RIVERS

## †1325. SHRI KAUSHALENDRA KUMAR

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government concur with the data provided by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) regarding the steady rise in pollution across majority of rivers in the country;

(b) if so, the measures taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to remove the causes of the said rise in pollution and to improve the condition;

(c)  the  details  of  the  funds  spent  by  the  Government  during  the  last  five  years  on  the  projects  to  make  the rivers pollution free;

(d)  whether  any  assessment  has  also  been  made  by  the  Government  to  ensure  the  proper  utilisation  of  the funds; and

(e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) The report published by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the data collected therein, is the guiding  document  for  assessment  of  the  pollution  in  various  stretches  of  rivers  in  the  country.  CPCB,  in association with the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs), monitors water quality of rivers and other water bodies in the country through a network of monitoring stations under the  National  Water  Quality  Monitoring  Programme  (NWMP).  Based  on  water  quality  monitoring  results, pollution  assessment of  rivers  has  been  carried  out  by  CPCB  from  time  to  time.  Rivers  in  the  country  are polluted due to discharge of untreated and partially treated domestic sewage from cities/towns/local bodies and industrial effluents in their respective catchments, problems in operation and maintenance of sewage and industrial  effluent  treatment  plants,  lack  of  dilution  and  other  non-point  sources  of  pollution.  Rapid urbanization and industrialization have compounded the problem. So far, CPCB has adopted the criteria of Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) as an indicator to assess the quality of water in rivers and pollution levels.

Presently, CPCB under NWMP monitors water quality of rivers at 2,026 locations in the country. Based on the assessment of water quality data for the year 2019 & 2021, CPCB in its report of November 2022, identified  311  polluted  river  stretches  on  279  rivers  in  30  States/Union  Territories  (UTs).  State/UT-wise details of polluted river stretches are given at Annexure.

It was informed by CPCB that the data published by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is not available with them, as the Board was not involved in publication of the same by CSE.

(b)  &  (c) It  is  the  primary  responsibility  of  the  States/UTs/  Local  Bodies  and  industrial  units  to  ensure required treatment of sewage and industrial effluents to the prescribed standards before discharging into water bodies,  seas  or  land  to  prevent  and  control  of  pollution  therein.  Cleaning  and  rejuvenation  of  rivers  are ongoing activities. This Ministry has been supplementing efforts of the States/UTs by providing financial and technical  assistance  for  abatement  of  pollution  in  identified  stretches  of  rivers  (except  Ganga  basin)  in  the country through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP). Rejuvenation of  river  Ganga  and  its  tributaries  is  undertaken  through  the  Central  Sector  Scheme  of  Namami  Gange Programme.

NRCP has so far covered polluted stretches on 36 rivers in 80 towns spread over 16 States in the country with the project sanctioned cost of Rs. 6,248.16 crore, and inter alia , a sewage treatment capacity of 2,745.7 million liters per day  (mld) has been created. Under the Namami Gange Programme, 409 projects, including 177 projects  for  sewage  treatment  capacity  of  5,269.87  mld  and  a  sewer  network  of  5,213  km,  have  been sanctioned at a cost of Rs. 32,912.40 crore. Details of the funds spent by the Government during the last five years on the projects to make the rivers pollution free are as under:

| Financial Year   | Funds Released (Rs. in crore)    | Funds Released (Rs. in crore)   |
|------------------|----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
|                  | National River Conservation Plan | Namami Gange                    |
| 2017-18          | 173.34                           | 1,625.01                        |
| 2018-19          | 150.32                           | 2,626.54                        |
| 2019-20          | 136.66                           | 2,673.09                        |
| 2020-21          | 99.87                            | 1,339.97                        |
| 2021-22          | 202.32                           | 1,892.70                        |
| Total            | 762.51                           | 10,157.31                       |

In  addition  to  these,  sewerage  infrastructure  is  also  created  under  programs  like  Atal  Mission  for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs .

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, SPCBs and PCCs monitor industries with respect to effluent discharge standards and take punitive action for non-compliance under provisions of these Acts.

Additionally,  in  compliance  of  the  orders  of  Hon'ble  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 these action plans is undertaken in the States/UTs and the same is also done at the Central level by Secretary, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Govt. of India.

(d)  &  (e) Progress  of  implementation  and  proper  utilization  of  funds  are  monitored  by  both  the  State Implementing Agencies and the Ministry through a multi-tier monitoring mechanism.  Schemes under NRCP are periodically  reviewed by NRCD. The concerned officers in the Ministry also visit the project sites and review the progress of the project and utilization of funds with the officer concerned from the implementing agency and the State Government. The shortcomings are then communicated to the State Government as well as the project implementing agency. The projects are also monitored on regular basis at the State level. Based on these efforts, the State Governments through its Implementing Authorities submit utilization certificates of the funds utilized for release of next installments of funds.

ANNEXURE ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PART  (a)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1325 TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 09.02.2023 ON 'RISE IN POLLUTION OF RIVERS'.

State/UT-wise & Priority wise number of Polluted River Stretches

| S No.   | STATE/UNION TERRITORY                 | PRIORITY CLASS   | PRIORITY CLASS   | PRIORITY CLASS   | PRIORITY CLASS   | PRIORITY CLASS   | TOTAL No. of PRS   |
|---------|---------------------------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|------------------|--------------------|
| S No.   | STATE/UNION TERRITORY                 | I                | II               | III              | IV               | V                | TOTAL No. of PRS   |
| 1       | ANDHRA PRADESH                        | 1                | -                | -                | 1                | 1                | 3                  |
| 2       | ASSAM                                 | 1                | -                | -                | -                | 9                | 10                 |
| 3       | BIHAR                                 | -                | 1                | 2                | 7                | 8                | 18                 |
| 4       | CHHATTISGARH                          |                  | 1                |                  | 2                | 3                | 6                  |
| 5       | DAMAN AND DIU, DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI | -                | -                | 1                | -                | -                | 1                  |
| 6       | DELHI                                 | 1                | -                | -                | -                | -                | 1                  |
| 7       | GOA                                   | -                | -                | -                | 1                | 5                | 6                  |
| 8       | GUJARAT                               | 6                | 1                | 1                | 1                | 4                | 13                 |
| 9       | HARYANA                               | 2                | 1                | -                | -                | -                | 3                  |
| 10      | HIMACHAL PRADESH                      | 4                | -                | -                | 1                | 4                | 9                  |
| 11      | JAMMU &KASHMIR                        | -                | -                | 2                | 4                | 2                | 8                  |
| 12      | JHARKHAND                             | -                | -                | 1                | 2                | 6                | 9                  |
| 13      | KARNATAKA                             | 3                | -                | -                | 3                | 11               | 17                 |
| 14      | KERALA                                | -                | -                | 1                | 2                | 15               | 18                 |
| 15      | MADHYA PRADESH                        | 2                | -                | 1                | 5                | 11               | 19                 |
| 16      | MAHARASHTRA                           | 4                | 5                | 18               | 17               | 11               | 55                 |
| 17      | MANIPUR                               | -                | -                | -                | 2                | 11               | 13                 |
| 18      | MEGHALAYA                             | 2                | -                | -                | 1                | 4                | 7                  |
| 19      | MIZORAM                               | -                | -                | -                | 2                | 1                | 3                  |
| 20      | NAGALAND                              | -                | -                | 1                | -                | 3                | 4                  |
| 21      | ODISHA                                | 1                | -                | -                | 3                | 3                | 7                  |
| 22      | PUDUCHERRY                            | -                | 1                | 1                | 1                | -                | 3                  |
| 23      | PUNJAB                                | 3                | -                | -                | -                | 2                | 5                  |
| 24      | RAJASTHAN                             | 2                | -                | 1                | 4                | 7                | 14                 |
| 25      | TAMIL NADU                            | 4                | 1                | 1                | 1                | 3                | 10                 |
| 26      | TELANGANA                             | 1                | 1                | 2                | -                | 5                | 9                  |
| 27      | TRIPURA                               | -                | -                | -                | -                | 1                | 1                  |
| 28      | UTTAR PRADESH                         | 6                | -                | 1                | 2                | 8                | 17                 |
| 29      | UTTARAKHAND                           | 2                | 2                | 4                | -                | 1                | 9                  |
| 30      | WEST BENGAL                           | 1                | 2                | 1                | 3                | 6                | 13                 |
|         | GRAND TOTAL                           | 46               | 16               | 39               | 65               | 145              | 311                |

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