Lok Sabha Question No. 3080 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-19
Subject: Beach Pollution and Coastal Water Quality Monitoring
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Shri Tangella Uday Srinivas

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3080 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, 19 TH  MARCH, 2025

## Beach Pollution and Coastal Water Quality Monitoring

## 3080.  SHRI TANGELLA UDAY SRINIVAS;

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  beach  pollution  levels  recorded  along  Country's  coastline  during  the  last five  years  including  key  pollutants  and  their  impact  on  marine  ecosystems  as  per  data from the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR);
- (b) the trends in marine litter and plastic pollution along beaches and coastal waters, along with the measures taken to address them, State-wise;
- (c) the number and locations of Blue Flag-certified beaches in the Country, along with the environmental monitoring criteria and compliance mechanisms in place;
- (d) the  specific  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  reduce  industrial  and  municipal  waste discharge  into  coastal  ecosystems  including  enforcement  actions  and  waste  treatment initiatives; and
- (e) whether the  Government is developing a national framework for coastal waste management  to  prevent  marine pollution and if so, the proposed structure and implementation timeline of such a framework?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND EARTH SCIENCES (DR. JITENDRA SINGH)

- (a) Sir, based on data collected by various studies conducted by National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), an attached office of MoES, one of the most dominant key pollutants on the beach environment was found to be plastic litter. The main source of plastic litter on the studied beaches are observed to be public-derived litter followed by non-sourced litter and fishing activity related litter.
- (b) As per the study conducted by NCCR, in 2021, the percentage of beach plastic litter was 74%.  It  then  declined  sharply,  reaching  40%  by  2022.The  percentage  of  beach  plastic litter was 43% in 2023 and stayed stable in 2024. MoES has conducted various awareness events  such  as,  PAN  India  beach  clean-up  and  awareness  program  at  more  than  250 beaches (2017-2024) through various initiatives such as Swachh Sagar Surakshit Sagar/ International Coastal Clean-up Day, World Ocean Day, Swachhata Pakhwada/ Swachhata Hi  Seva.  etc  These  mega-awareness  drives  were  conducted  by  engaging  various government  and  non-government  organizations,  students  from  various  schools  and colleges, and other stakeholders.The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) notified the Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, on 12th August 2021, prohibiting identified single use plastic items, which have low utility and high  littering  potential,  from  1st  July  2022.  The  MoEF&CC  has  also  notified  the

Guidelines  on  the  Extended  Producer  Responsibility  (EPR)  for  plastic  packaging  vide Plastic  Waste  Management  Amendment  Rules,  2022,  on  16th  February,  2022.  The Guidelines  stipulate  mandatory  targets  on  EPR,  recycling  of  plastic  packaging  waste, reuse of rigid plastic packaging and use of recycled plastic content. The implementation of ban on identified single use plastic items coupled with Extended Producer Responsibility on plastic packaging has contributed in reduction of pollution caused by littered and unmanaged plastic waste.

- (c) Under  the  Integrated  Coastal  Zone  Management  Project  (ICZMP),  the  Ministry  of Environment, Forest  & Climate Change (MoEFCC) has piloted Beach Environment & Aesthetic  Management  Service  (BEAMS)  Programme.  Under  this  programme,  various activities  and  parameters  related  to  pollution  abatement,  beach  awareness,  aesthetics, safety,  surveillances  services  and  environment  education,  etc.,  have  been  done  at identified beaches  aimed  to  achieve  international standards  for  Blue  Flag  Beach Certification.  Total  10  beaches  situated  in  6  States  and  3  Union  Territories  have  been developed at par with best international beaches with safety and ecologically sustainable infrastructure, acceptable bathing water  quality, self-sustaining  energy  supply  and environmentally sound services/management measures. Beaches that have been conferred with internationally recognized Blue Flag Certification are:
-  Shivrajpur, Devbhumi Dwarka District, Gujarat
-  Ghoghla (Diu) Dadara Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
-  Padubidri, Udupi District, Karnataka
-  Kasarkod, Karwar District, Karnataka
-  Kappad, Kozhikode District, Kerala
-  Kovalam, Kanchipuram District, Tamil Nadu
-  Eden, Puducherry District, Puducherry
-  Rushikonda, Vishakhapatnam District, Andhra Pradesh
-  Golden, Puri District, Odisha
-  Radhanagar (Havelock), Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- (d) In order to reduce the industrial and municipal waste discharge into coastal ecosystems, the Government has taken following initiatives:
- i. Industry  specific  standards  for  emission  or  discharge  of  environmental  pollutants for 79 industrial sectors under Schedule-I and general standards under Schedule-VI of E (P) Rules, 1986 have been notified.
- ii. The  State  Pollution  Control  Boards  (SPCBs)/  PCCs  issue  consent  to  establish  / consent to operate and authorization to the industries in the States. SPCBs / PCCs monitor the compliance of industrial effluent according to the prescribed norms. In case  of  non-compliance,  action  against  industry  is  taken  under  provisions  of  the Water Act, 1974, the Air Act, and the E (P) Act, 1986.
- iii.   Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has directed SPCBs / PCCs to inspect and designate Red, Orange, and Green categories of industries at a minimum inspection frequency  of  6  months,  1  year  and  2  years  respectively  for  verification  of compliance  of  environmental  norms.  In  addition,  17  categories  of  high  pollution potential  industries,  common  waste  management  /treatment  facilities  such  as Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) and Common  Bio-Medical  Waste  Treatment  Facility  (CBMWTFs)  are  inspected  on quarterly basis by SPCBs / PCCs.
- iv.   In addition to the regular monitoring through SPCBs/PCCs, CPCB also randomly inspect  17 categories  of  high  pollution  potential industries and  common  facilities based  on  the  exceedance  alerts  generated  through  Online  Continuous  Effluent  / Emission Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) installed in these  units. In  case  of  noncompliance  with  respect  to  environmental  norms,  action  is  taken  against  the violators as per the provisions of the Environmental Acts.
- v. Central Pollution Control Board has issued directions to 9 Coastal State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/4 Pollution Control Committees (Andhra Pradesh, Andaman  &  Nicobar,  Daman,  Diu  &  Dadra  and  Nagar  Haveli,  Goa,  Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshwadeep, Maharashtra, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu & West  Bengal)  under  Section  18  (1)  (b)  of  Water  (Prevention  and  Control  of Pollution)  Act,  1974,  regarding  treatment  of  untreated  sewage  and  Industrial effluent and disposal in coastal towns of India.
- vi.   Most of the industries located in coastal area are allowed to dispose their pre-treated effluent  in  Common  Effluent  Treatment  Plant  (CETP)  and  treated  effluent  from CETP  is  allowed  to  discharge  into  sea  through  pipeline.  The  existing  shore discharge shall be converted to Marine Outfalls. In cases where the marine outfall provides  a  minimum  initial  dilution  1500  times  at  the  point  of  discharge  and  a minimum dilution of 1500 times at a point 100 meter away from discharge point, then  the  State  Board  may  relax  the  Chemical  Oxygen  Demand  (COD)  limit, provided that the maximum permissible value for COD in treated effluent shall be 500 milligrams /liter.
- (e) Marine pollution, originating from both land and sea, poses one of the greatest threats to the health of the world's oceans. This pollution can take many forms, including plastic pollution,  agricultural  runoff,  industrial  and  municipal  waste,  marine  litter,  and  oil spills,  each  with  significant  implications  for  marine  biodiversity,  human  health,  and economic  activities.  United  Nations  Environment  Agency  (UNEA)  Resolutions  on Marine  Litter  and  Microplastics  support  global  efforts  to  reduce  marine  litter.  It supports  and  guides  in  the  development  of  national  and  regional  marine  litter  action plans.  Consequently,  National  Centre  for  Coastal  Research  (NCCR),  MoES  has prepared  a  blueprint  (technical  report)  for  a  national  marine  litter  policy  in  India. According to this report, NCCR has proposed 4 targets and 20 strategies to combat the marine litter.

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