Lok Sabha Question No. 1203 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-11
Subject: Dumping Chemical Waste into Rivers
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Nitesh Ganga Deb

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1203

TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2023

## Dumping Chemical Waste into Rivers

## 1203.   SHRI NITESH GANGA DEB: SHRI PARTHIBAN S.R.:

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

- (a) whether the Government has taken steps to reduce chemical waste dumped into the major rivers of the country by the industries and dyeing units located near the rivers;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government is committed to protect the river bank of Kaveri in the State of Tamil Nadu from the incessant dumping of garbage;
- (d) if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether any directions have been issued to develop the river bank as pollution free and eco-friendly site; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

## (a) & (b)

The Government has taken number of steps to reduce chemical waste dumped into the major rivers of the country by the industries and dyeing units located near the rivers. The Ministry of Environment  Forest  and  Climate  Change  (MoEF&CC),  Government  of  India  has  notified industry specific discharge standards under Schedule-I: 'Standards for Emission or Discharge of Environmental Pollutants from various Industries' of Environment Protection Act, 1986. So far,  industry  specific  environmental  standards,  for  about  80  industrial  sectors,  have  been notified.

The  State  Pollution  Control  Boards  (SPCBs)/Pollution  Control  Committees  (PCCs)  issue consent  to  establish/consent  to  operate  and  authorization  to  the  industries  in  the  States. SPCBs/PCCs  monitor  the  compliance  of  industrial  emissions/effluent  according  to  the prescribed  standards.  In  case  of  non-compliance,  action  against  industry  is  taken  under provisions  of  Water  (Prevention  and  Control  of  Pollution)  Act,  1974,  Air  (Prevention  and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) issued directions under Section18 (1) (b) of the Water (Prevention  and  Control  of  Pollution)  Act,  1974  to  SPCBs/PCCs  regarding  'Treatment  & Utilization  of  Sewage'  and  also  issued  directions  under  Section  5  of  The  Environment

(Protection)  Act,  1986  to  Municipal  Corporations  of  46  Metropolitan  cities  and  20  State Capitals regarding 'Treatment and Utilization of Sewage for Restoration of Water Quality of River'.

For  strengthening  monitoring  mechanism  and  effective  compliance  through  self-regulatory mechanism, CPCB has issued directions to all 17 categories of highly  polluting industries, Grossly  Polluted  Industries  (GPIs)  of  Ganga  basin,  Common  Effluent  Treatment  Plants (CETPs), biomedical waste management facilities and common hazardous waste facilities to install Online Continuous Effluent/Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) for constant vigil on pollution levels.  In case of any violations of the norms, an automatic SMS alert is generated and sent to industrial unit, SPCB and CPCB, so that corrective measures can be taken by the industry immediately and appropriate action can be taken by concerned SPCB/PCC.

## (c) to (f)

CPCB monitors water quality of aquatic resources at 4703 locations including 2155 monitoring locations  on  rivers  under  National  Water  Quality  Monitoring  Programme  (NWMP)  in association with the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) including data that of the River Kaveri.

During the year 2018 CPCB identified Polluted River stretches of River Kaveri from Mettur to Mayiladuthurai in  Tamil  Nadu  under  Priority class  I  (BOD>30  mg/L).  For  rejuvenation of polluted river stretches identified in 2018 including River Kaveri, action plans were prepared by River Rejuvenation Committee (RRC) constituted by the respective State Government/UT Administration including the state of Tamil Nadu for bringing all the polluted river stretches identified by CPCB fit for bathing purposes (i.e. BOD ˂ 3 mg/L and FC ˂ 500 MPN/100 mL).

The aforesaid Action Plans cover important  aspects such as Source control (Municipal sewage management,  Industrial  pollution  control,  Waste  management),  River  catchment/Basin Management (Adoption of good irrigation  practices,  Utilization  of  treated  sewage,  Ground water recharge aspects), Flood Plain Zone protection and its management (Setting up of biodiversity parks, Removal of encroachments, Rain water harvesting, Plantation on both sides of the river), Ecological/Environmental Flow (E-Flow) and Watershed management.

Implementation  of  time-bound  Action  Plans  is  in  the  domain  of  the  State  Government Departments/UT Administration Departments who are responsible for rejuvenation of polluted river stretches identified in the respective State/UT.  Progress of implementation of action plans is reviewed by the RRC at State Level and Central Monitoring Committee (CMC) constituted for the purpose.

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