Lok Sabha Question No. 1977 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-31
Subject: Control of Pollution in Rivers
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Dr. Anand Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1977

ANSWERED ON 31.07.2025

## CONTROL OF POLLUTION IN RIVERS

## †1977. DR. ANAND KUMAR

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the schemes implemented/being implemented by the Government to insulate rivers of the country from pollution and the achievements made therefrom;

(b) the details of the funds spent by the Government on making the rivers free from pollution during the last five years;

(c) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to make the river potable and the timeline set for the purpose;

(d) whether the Government has any plan to get entire sewage water of all small and big cities treated through Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) before its flow into the rivers; and

(e) if so, the details thereof and the timeline set in this regard?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) to (c) It is the primary responsibility of States/Union Territories and local bodies to ensure required treatment  of  sewage  and  industrial  effluents,  before  discharging  into  recipient  water  bodies  or  land  for prevention and control of pollution therein. This Ministry is implementing Namami Gange Program for rejuvenation,  protection  and  management  of  river  Ganga  and  its  tributaries,  and  National  River Conservation  Plan  for  conservation  of  other  rivers  in  the  country  to  achieve  water  quality  of  the designated best use for outdoor bathing.

Under Namami Gange Program, a total of 212 sewerage infrastructure projects involving laying of 5220 km of sewer network and sewage treatment capacity of 6540 million litres per day (MLD) have been taken  up.  Out  of  that,  136  projects  have  been  completed  resulting  creation/rehabilitation  of  sewage treatment capacity of 3781 MLD. Out of the total expenditure of around Rs. 20,000 crores under Namami Gange Program so far, during last 5 years around Rs.10,500 crore were spent towards implementation of various projects.

NRCP has so far covered 57 rivers in 17 States in the country at a cost of Rs.8970 crore, and total sewage  treatment  capacity  of  2945  MLD  has  been  created  in  identified  towns.  An  amount  of  Rs.1677 crore was released during last 5 years under the scheme for implementation of projects.

The schemes of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Smart Cities Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission - Urban under the aegis of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs are  also  being  implemented  which  are  aimed  at  creating  and/or  augmenting  sewerage  infrastructure  in identified towns and thus improving water quality of rivers and other water bodies, sanitation systems and water management in those towns.

Cleaning/rejuvenation of rivers is a continuous and dynamic process. As per the last report of CPCB of  2022  on  pollution  assessment  of  rivers  in  the  country  based  on  water  quality  monitoring  results, polluted  river  stretches  in  the  country  were  reduced  to  311  compared  to  351  in  2018.  Also,  106  river stretches  were  found  no  more  polluted  and  improvement  in  river  water  quality  was  observed  in  74 stretches. In case of river Ganga, improvement has been observed in the various stretches of the Ganga River  as  per  the  CPCB  report  and  Dissolved  Oxygen  has  been  found  within  the  acceptable  limits  and satisfactory  to  support  river  ecosystem  in  its  entire  stretch.  Also,  there  has  been  notable  increase  in population  of  Dolphins  in  river  Ganga  and  its  presence  has  been  noted  in  new  stretches  and  rivers  of Ganga basin, shows substantial improvement in health of the rivers due to conservation efforts.

(d)  &  (e) The  effluent  discharge  standards  stipulated  under  the  Environment  (Protection)  Rules,  1986 necessitate treatment of domestic waste water from cities/towns before discharging into surface waters, land or public sewerage system. As per the directions of National Green Tribunal in OA No.673/2018, States/UTs have prepared action plans including sewage  management  in  identified cities/towns for restoration of polluted river stretches in their jurisdiction. Implementation of these action plans is reviewed at State level and also at the Central level from time to time.

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