Lok Sabha Question No. 162 (STARRED), answered on 2023-12-14
Subject: Cleaning of Minor Rivers
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Malook Nagar

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *162

ANSWERED ON 14.12.2023

## CLEANING OF MINOR RIVERS

†*162 SHRI MALOOK NAGAR

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the steps being taken by the Government to maintain the cleanliness of the minor rivers passing through the district headquarters, cities and industrial areas;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to introduce new provisions for the said purpose; and
- (c) if so, the details of the policy being formulated in this regard?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

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

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF STARRED QUESTION NO. *162 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.12.2023 IN LOK SABHA REGARDING 'CLEANING OF MINOR RIVERS'

Rivers  and  other  water  bodies  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, poor operation and maintenance of sewage/effluent treatment plants, lack of dilution, dumping of solid waste on their banks and other non-point sources of pollution. Rapid urbanization and industrialization have also compounded the problem.

Government of India has been taking many steps for pollution abatement in rivers all over the country, though it is the responsibility of States/Union Territories (UTs) and local bodies to ensure required treatment of sewage and industrial effluent, before discharging into recipient water bodies, land or coastal waters for prevention and control of pollution therein.

Namami Gange Programme (NGP) implemented by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) was launched by Government of India in 2014 as a focused program to clean and rejuvenate River Ganga and its tributaries.  To  stop  untreated  sewage  and  industrial  effluents  reaching  the  rivers,  interventions  like interception  and  diversion  of  drains  carrying  dirty  water  and  construction  of  Sewerage  Treatment  Plants (STPs) and Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) were taken up under it. 195 sewerage infrastructure projects  have  been  sanctioned  at  a  cost  of Rs  31,344.13  crore  for  creation  &  rehabilitation  of  6,173.12 Million Liters per Day (MLD) of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) capacity along with laying of 5,253.64 km of  sewerage network in River Ganga and its tributaries. Out of these, 109 sewerage projects have already been completed resulting in creation & rehabilitation of 2,664.05 MLD of STP capacity along with laying of 4,465.54 km of sewerage network.

NMCG has taken special steps to keep clean minor rivers which form the tributaries of River Ganga, by  taking  up  pollution  abatement  works  in  them.  Special  projects  have  been  sanctioned  to  clean  up  the tributaries  like  Yamuna,  Hindon,  Kali,  Kosi,  Gomti  etc  which  are  very  polluted.  67  projects  with  a sanctioned cost Rs.12479.90 crore to create 3 678.4 MLD sewerage treatment capacity to tackle pollution in these tributaries. River Basin Management Plans (RMPs) have been prepared for the Ramganga River basin, with the involvement of stakeholders. CETPs and STPs have been built on Pandu river in Kanpur to prevent the flow of effluents from the tanneries and untreated sewage which were polluting it and River Ganga in Kanpur, one of the main pollution hot spots in the River Ganga.

Taking up of these projects under Namami Gange have resulted in improved water quality in Ganga and  its  tributaries,  which  is  seen  in  the  increased  biodiversity  and  reduced  pollution  stretches.  NamamiGange was recognized as one of the top ten World Restoration Flagships by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Conference of Parties (CoP 15) at Montreal in 2022.

National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) was launched to tackle pollution in other rivers.

NRCP has so far covered polluted stretches of 38 rivers in 82 towns spread over 16 States at a total sanctioned  cost  of  Rs.  8241.32  crore. These  include  rivers  like  Rani  Chu  in  Sikkim,  Nambul  in  Imphal,

Manipur; Devika  and Tawi in Udhampur, Jammu; Dhiphu and Dhansiri, Nagaland; Pamba in Kerala etc. Pollution abatement works have been taken up, at a cost of Rs 990.26 Crores in Mula Mutha river which flows by Pune and is a tributary of Bheema river. Pollution abatement works have been taken up, at a cost of Rs 1926.99 Crores in Nag River which flows by Nagpur and is a tributary of Kanhan river.

In addition, sewerage infrastructure is created under programs like Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban  Transformation  (AMRUT)  and  Smart  Cities  Mission  of  Ministry  of  Housing  &  Urban  Affairs. Further,  priority  for  effective  rejuvenation  of  small  rivers  has  been  accorded  under  the  Mahatma  Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).

Cleaning of river is a continuous process. Innovative approaches are tried to ensure sustainability by involving  people  and  evolving  new  business  models  like  HAM  and  One  City  One  Operator  etc.  NMCG "River Cites Alliance' (RCA) started with 30 river cities on the banks of river Ganga in 2021 as a dedicated platform for river cities in India to ideate, discuss, and exchange information for the sustainable management of urban rivers under the Urban River Management Plan (URMP), now has 142 cities on the banks of many Indian  rivers  and  Aarhus  city  of  Denmark  as  members.  On  6  December  2023,  at  Conference  of  Parties (CoP28), RCA signed a Memorandum of Common Purposes (MoCP) with the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI), representing 124 cities/towns situated along the banks of the Mississippi River, United  States  of  America  to  promote  knowledge  sharing  and  capacity  building  between  RCA  and MRTCI. Expanding  the  RCA,  on  10  December,  2023,  'Global  River  Cities  Alliance'  (GRCA),  led  by NMCG  was  launched  at  the  CoP28  with  9  countries  and  2  international  cities;  3  international  funding agencies-  World  Bank,  Asian  Development  Bank  (ADB),  Asian  Infrastructure  Investment  Bank  (AIIB) entering into a partnership to provide a unique platform for global river cities to ideate, network, support and co-learn to foster river centric development.

Central Pollution Control Board, State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees regularly monitor industries with respect to effluent discharge standards and take action for non-compliance under provisions  of  Environment  (Protection)  Act,  1986  and  Water  (Prevention  and  Control  of  Pollution) Act,  1974.   To  improve  the  monitoring  of  compliance,  directions  have  been  issued  by  CPCB  to  specific industries  to  install  online  24x7  effluent  monitoring  systems.  Steps  have  also  been  taken  by  CPCB  to promote low waste concept in grossly water polluting industries and maintain zero liquid discharge wherever possible.

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  to  mitigate  river  pollution  and  other  surface  water  is  undertaken  in  the States/UTs and also at Central level.

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