Lok Sabha Question No. 2421 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-15
Subject: Assessment and Restoration of Polluted Lakes
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Kunduru Raghuveer

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2421

TO BE ANSWERED ON 15.12.2025

## Assessment and Restoration of Polluted Lakes

## 2421. SHRI KUNDURU RAGHUVEER:

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

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  conducted  any  nationwide  assessment  regarding  the increasing  pollution  of  lakes,  waterbodies  and  urban  tanks  due  to  sewage  discharge industrial effluents, solid-waste dumping, encroachments and chemical contamination across the country during the last five years, if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise including Telangana;
- (b) the number of polluted lakes identified during the last five years and the status of water quality deterioration, including the parameters that exceeded permissible limits,State/UT-wise;
- (c) whether any cases of violation by industries, municipalities, or construction agencies have been recorded for polluting or encroaching upon lakes and if so, the action taken in each case;
- (d) the steps taken by the Government, in coordination with States, to restore polluted lakes under the programmes such as National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Wetland Conservation Scheme and National Green Tribunal (NGT) directions; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes a stricter monitoring system and real-time surveillance of vulnerable lakes?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) to (e)       Central  Pollution  Control Board (CPCB) at present  monitors  water quality of aquatic  resources  in  the  country  in  association  with  the  State  Pollution  Control  Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) at 4922 locations including in the state of Telangana  under  National  Water  Quality  Monitoring  Programme  (NWMP)  as  detailed  in Annexure I .

The State/UT wise status of water quality details for Lakes, Ponds and Tanks are available in public  domain  at  CPCB  website at  https://cpcb.nic.in/nwmp-data/.  As  per  the  information available, 158 Lakes, Ponds and Tanks comply with Primary Water Quality Criteria (PWQC)

for outdoor bathing notified under Environment (Protection) Rules,1986 for the year 2023 out of which 5 Lakes/Ponds/Tanks exist in Telangana.

CPCB periodically reviews the water quality data of stagnant water bodies viz. lakes, tanks and ponds and shares the outcome of assessment with SPCB/PCCs for source identification and taking measures for improvement of water quality.

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has enacted the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for  protection  of  environment  including  lakes.  Further,  Government  of  India  notified Wetlands  (Conservation  and  Management)  Rules,  2017  under  the  provisions  of  the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 as regulatory framework  for conservation and management of wetlands in India. Under the said rules, powers have been delegated to the State/UT  Wetlands  Authorities  for  identification,  notification  and  management  of  the wetlands in their respective jurisdiction.

MoEF&CC  is  implementing  a  centrally  sponsored  scheme,  namely,  National  Plan  for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA) for conservation and management of wetlands in  the  country,  on  cost  sharing  basis  between  Central  Government  and  respective  State Governments.  The  scheme  covers  various  activities  such  as  interception,  diversion  and treatment of wastewater, shoreline protection, in-situ cleaning i.e., desilting and deweeding, biodiversity conservation, storm water management, bioremediation, catchment area treatment including tree plantation and aided natural regeneration, survey and demarcation, bio-fencing, sustainable livelihood development including fisheries, eco-tourism development, education and awareness creation, community participation, etc. Further, in its strong commitment towards wetland conservation, India has added 67 wetlands as Ramsar Sites since 2014 and the total number of which rose to 94 at present.

Further, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs implements Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT 2.0) under which rejuvenation of water bodies and wells is one of the main components. Under the Mission, States/ UTs are empowered to select, appraise,  prioritise  and  implement  the  projects  within  the  broad  framework  of  Mission guidelines. Under AMRUT 2.0, 3,031 water body rejuvenation projects worth ₹6,270.51 crore have been approved so far.

Further, the following steps have been taken by the government to strengthen the enforcement of environmental regulations and control of water pollution in the country.

-  The Central and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) / Pollution Control Pollution Committees (PCCS) are implementing the provisions of both the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to prevent and control pollution of aquatic resources.
-  Regulation  of  industrial  Pollution  is  implemented  through  various  provisions  of  the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 under Consent mechanism by the respective SPCB / PCC.
-  Government  of  India  stipulated  General  discharge  standards  and  industry  specific effluent discharge standards under Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 with an aim to prevent pollution in the water bodies.
-  The Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) are being installed by 17 categories of industries and Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) in the country. This
- initiative provides real-time information on effluent quality, enabling the identification of non-complying units and the implementation of corrective actions.
-  SPCBs / PCCs have been directed under Section 18(1) (b) of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 to direct concerned agencies in the State/UT to develop infrastructure for sewage treatment.

***

## NWMP Network

## Annexure - I

| State                                 | River   | Lake   | Pond   | Tank   | Ground Water   | Wetland   | Canal   | Drain   | Reservoir   | Creek/ Coastal/   | Marine/ Sewage Treatment Plants   | Water Treatment Plant ( Raw Water)   |   Grand Total |
|---------------------------------------|---------|--------|--------|--------|----------------|-----------|---------|---------|-------------|-------------------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------------------|---------------|
| Andhra Pradesh                        | 45      | 16     | -      | 3      | 61             | 21        | 5       | 4       | 5           | 27                | 1                                 | -                                    |           188 |
| Arunachal Pradesh                     | 17      | -      | -      | -      | -              | -         | -       | -       | -           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |            17 |
| Assam                                 | 112     | 34     | 24     | -      | 67             | 2         | -       | -       | -           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |           239 |
| Bihar                                 | 96      | 3      | 2      | -      | 70             | -         | -       | -       | -           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |           171 |
| Chandigarh                            | -       | 1      | -      | -      | 7              | -         | -       | 3       | -           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |            11 |
| Chhattisgarh                          | 29      | -      | 1      | -      | 8              | -         | -       | -       | 1           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |            39 |
| Daman And Diu, Dadra And Nagar Haveli | 13      | -      | -      | -      | 12             | -         | -       | -       | -           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |            25 |
| Delhi                                 | 12      | 3      | -      | -      | 45             | -         | 2       | 26      | -           | -                 | -                                 | 6                                    |            94 |
| Goa                                   | 32      | 44     | -      | -      | 9              | -         | 3       | -       | 2           | 24                | 1                                 | -                                    |           115 |
| Gujarat                               | 65      | 17     | 2      | -      | 88             | 3         | 3       | -       | 4           | 3                 | 2                                 | -                                    |           187 |
| Haryana                               | 23      | 4      | 1      | -      | 29             | 1         | 14      | 1       | -           | -                 | -                                 | 3                                    |            76 |
| Himachal Pradesh                      | 156     | 5      | 1      | -      | 55             | -         | -       | 32      | 1           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |           250 |
| Jammu &Kashmir                        | 63      | 36     | -      | -      | 23             | 10        | -       | 2       | -           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |           134 |
| Jharkhand                             | 65      | 4      | 4      | -      | 3              | -         | -       | -       | -           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |            76 |
| Karnataka                             | 126     | 151    | 1      | 67     | 2              | -         | -       | -       | 6           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |           358 |
| Kerala                                | 138     | 29     | 7      | -      | 35             | -         | 3       | 1       | -           | -                 | 1                                 | -                                    |           219 |
| Lakshadweep                           | -       | -      | 3      | -      | 42             | -         | -       | -       | -           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |            45 |
| Madhya Pradesh                        | 211     | 20     | 11     | 1      | 54             | -         | -       | -       | 8           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |           305 |
| Maharashtra                           | 181     | 1      | -      | -      | 50             | -         | -       | 10      | 1           | 35                | -                                 | -                                    |           278 |
| Manipur                               | 44      | 5      | 14     | -      | 10             | -         | 2       | -       | -           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |            75 |
| Meghalaya                             | 64      | 7      | -      | -      | 13             | -         | -       | -       | -           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |            84 |
| Mizoram                               | 67      | 6      | 13     | -      | 26             | -         | -       | -       | 9           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |           121 |
| Nagaland                              | 32      | 6      | -      | -      | 10             | -         | -       | -       | -           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |            48 |
| Odisha                                | 156     | 7      | 10     | -      | 100            | 4         | 11      | 3       | 6           | 90                | 3                                 | -                                    |           390 |
| Puducherry                            | 6       | 3      | -      | -      | 22             | -         | -       | -       | -           | 3                 | -                                 | -                                    |            34 |
| Punjab                                | 66      | 17     | 6      | -      | 46             | -         | 2       | 10      | -           | -                 | 8                                 | -                                    |           155 |
| Rajasthan                             | 30      | 27     | 2      | -      | 131            | -         | 5       | -       | 7           | -                 | -                                 | -                                    |           202 |

| State         |   River |   Lake | Pond   | Tank   | Ground Water   | Wetland   | Canal   | Drain   | Reservoir   | Creek/ Coastal/ Marine/   | Sewage Treatment Plants   | Water Treatment Plant ( Raw Water)   |   Grand Total |
|---------------|---------|--------|--------|--------|----------------|-----------|---------|---------|-------------|---------------------------|---------------------------|--------------------------------------|---------------|
| Sikkim        |      28 |      2 | -      | -      |                | -         | -       | -       | -           | -                         | -                         | -                                    |            30 |
| Tamil Nadu    |      71 |      8 | -      | 1      | 22             | 13        | 2       | 4       | -           | 34                        | 16                        | -                                    |           171 |
| Telangana     |      49 |    100 | 29     | 30     | 48             | -         | -       | 2       | 7           | -                         | 8                         | -                                    |           273 |
| Tripura       |      38 |      8 | 10     | -      | 57             | -         | 7       | -       | -           | -                         | -                         | -                                    |           120 |
| Uttar Pradesh |     121 |      7 | 2      | -      | 39             | 3         | 1       | -       | 1           | -                         | -                         | 2                                    |           176 |
| Uttarakhand   |      44 |      2 | -      | -      | 19             | 1         | 3       | -       | -           | -                         | -                         | -                                    |            69 |
| West Bengal   |      60 |     14 | -      | -      | 68             | 2         | 2       | -       | -           | 1                         | -                         | -                                    |           147 |
| Grand Total   |    2260 |    587 | 143    | 102    | 1271           | 60        | 65      | 98      | 58          | 227                       | 40                        | 11                                   |          4922 |