Lok Sabha Question No. 2424 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-08-03
Subject: Cleaning of Ganga and Yamuna River
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2424

## ANSWERED ON 03.08.2023

## CLEANING OF GANGA AND YAMUNA RIVER

## †2424. SHRIMATI RANJANBEN DHANANJAY BHATT

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Ganga river has been cleaned completely;

(b) if so, whether the Government also proposes to clean the Yamuna river completely;

(c) if so, the time by which this task would be completed; and

(d) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) Under the Namami Gange Programme, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is carrying out manual water quality monitoring of the River Ganga at 97 locations in 5 main stem States through the respective State Pollution  Control  Boards  (SPCBs)  on  fortnightly  basis.  River  water  quality  is  assessed  for  primary  water quality criteria notified for outdoor bathing.

Based on the water quality assessment by CPCB in 5 Ganga main stem states in 2022, the observed water quality indicates that median value of Dissolved Oxygen, which is an indicator of river health, has been found to be within acceptable limits of notified primary bathing water quality criteria and satisfactory to support the ecosystem of river for almost entire stretch of river Ganga.

The  stretch  of  river  Ganga  from  Gangotri  (Uttarakhand)  till  Farrukhabad  in  Uttar  Pradesh  is  meeting  the bathing water quality criteria. The water quality in the entire stretch of Uttarakhand is even better in terms of DO (> 6 mg/l) and BOD level (<2 mg/l).

The median value  of Biochemical  Oxygen Demand (BOD) has been found within the acceptable  limits except marginal exceedance (BOD: 3.3 to 4.6 mg/L) in locations/stretches viz., stretch from (i) Kannauj U/s to  Kala  Kankar,  Pratapgarh  &  D/s  Mirzapur  to  Tarighat,  Ghazipur  (except  U/s  Varanasi,  Vishwa  Sundari Bridge) in Uttar Pradesh and (ii) at Shitalatala, Palta in West Bengal.

As a result of multi sectoral interventions as per comparison of median data of water quality parameter viz., Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Faecal Coliforms (FC) of year 2014 and 2022, DO median has improved at 32 locations, BOD median has improved at 41 locations and FC median has improved at 27 locations respectively.

(b) Government of India/NMCG has sanctioned total 34 projects along the river Yamuna for its cleaning costing  Rs.5834.7  crore  to  create   2110.3  MLD  STP  capacity.  They  comprise  of  (01)  project  in  Himachal Pradesh, (02) projects in Haryana, (11) projects in Delhi and (20) projects in Uttar Pradesh, under Namami Gange programme  to abate pollution load in river Yamuna.  Out of these 34 projects, 15 have already been completed, viz., one (01) project in Paonta Sahib, Himachal Pradesh; two (02) projects in Sonipat and Panipat, Haryana; Six (06) projects in Vrindavan, Etawah, Firozabad, Baghpat and Mathura (STP & CETP), UP and six (06) projects in Delhi.

(c) & (d) Cleaning of river is a continuous process and Government of India is supplementing the efforts of the State Governments in addressing the challenges of pollution in river Ganga and its tributaries including river Yamuna by providing financial and technical assistance under Namami Gange Programme.