Lok Sabha Question No. 4412 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-19
Subject: Improvement in River Water Quality
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Karti P Chidambaram

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4412

ANSWERED ON 19.03.2026

## IMPROVEMENT IN RIVER WATER QUALITY

## 4412. SHRI KARTI P CHIDAMBARAM:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  cognisance  of  continuing  pollution  levels  in  the  river  Ganges despite ongoing interventions under the Namami Gange Programme;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the current status of water quality at major monitoring stations, stretch-wise;
- (c) the total sewage generation in towns located along the Ganges basin vis-à-vis the operational sewage treatment capacity created so far and the gap therein; and
- (d)  the  time-bound  and  coordinated  action  plan  proposed  by  the  Government  to  ensure  sustained improvement in river water quality standards?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

(SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY)

(a), (b) & (d) The Government of India (GoI) launched the Namami Gange Programme (NGP) in 201415 for the rejuvenation of river Ganga and its tributaries for five years, up to March 2021 and has been further extended to March 2026. As of January 2026, a total of 524 projects have been sanctioned at a cost  of  42,964  crores,  out  of  which  348  projects  have  been  completed.  The  majority  of  these  projects pertain to the creation of sewage infrastructure, as untreated domestic and industrial wastewater is the primary cause of pollution in the river. A total of 218 sewerage infrastructure projects have been taken up at a cost of 35,729 crores for the creation and rehabilitation of 6610 Million Litres per Day (MLD) of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) capacity. 138 sewerage projects have been completed, resulting  in the creation and rehabilitation of 4,050 MLD of STP capacity.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), carries out manual water quality monitoring of the river Ganga at 112 locations across five Ganga main-stem States- Uttarakhand-19; Uttar Pradesh-41; Bihar-33; Jharkhand-04;  and  West  Bengal-15.  As  per  CPCB  report  on  Polluted  River  Stretch  (PRS)  2025,  the following information about Ganga main stem pollution is available:

## Ganga Main Stem - State-wise Comparison (2018 vs 2025)

| State       | 2018 Polluted Stretch   | Priority (2018)   | 2025 Polluted Stretch   | Priority (2025)   | Trend/Observation                |
|-------------|-------------------------|-------------------|-------------------------|-------------------|----------------------------------|
| Uttarakhand | Haridwar→ Sultanpur     | IV                | No PRS                  | -                 | Improved and PRS stretch removed |

| Uttar Pradesh   | Kannauj→ Varanasi         | IV   | Bijnor →Tarighat             | IV / V   | Partially improved         |
|-----------------|---------------------------|------|------------------------------|----------|----------------------------|
| Bihar           | Buxar to Bhagalpur        | V    | Bhagalpur D/S→ Khalgaon D/S  | V        | Marginal pollution remains |
| Jharkhand       | No PRS                    | -    | No PRS                       | -        | -                          |
| West Bengal     | Triveni → Diamond Harbour | III  | Baharampore→ Diamond Harbour | V        | improved                   |

Based on the water quality data (median values) of the river Ganga for the year 2025 (January to August), the following observations are made:

- i. pH & Dissolved Oxygen (DO) are the most critical parameters of river health. The pH & DO of  River  Ganga  meet  the  required  norms  for  bathing  criteria  at  all  the  locations  of  River Ganga.
- ii. Water  quality  of  river  Ganga  is  conforming  with  the  bathing  criteria  w.r.t.  Bio-  chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the entire stretch of river Ganga in Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Bihar & West Bengal, except the following locations/stretches:
3.  Farrukhabad to Purana Rajapur, Kanpur.
4.  Dalmau, Raebareli.
5.  D/s  Mirzapur  to  Tarighat,  Ghazipur  (except  two  locations  namely  U/s  Varanasi,  After confluence Gomti & U/s Ghazipur) in Uttar Pradesh.

As  per  the  biomonitoring  conducted  during  2024-25  at  50  locations  along  river  Ganga  and  its tributaries and 26 locations along River Yamuna and its tributaries, the biological water quality (BWQ) predominantly ranged from 'Good' to 'Moderate'. The presence of diverse benthic macro-invertebrate species indicates the ecological potential of the rivers to sustain aquatic life.

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  by providing financial and technical assistance under Namami Gange Programme.

- (c) The approx. quantity of sewage generated from river Ganga front towns vis-a-vis installed capacity of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), State-wise is as follows:

| State         |   Approx. Sewage Generation in Ganga front towns (MLD) |   Installed capacity of STPs (MLD) |
|---------------|--------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------|
| Uttarakhand   |                                                  239.8 |                              346.8 |
| Uttar Pradesh |                                                 1255.2 |                             1499   |
| Bihar         |                                                  480   |                              400   |
| Jharkhand     |                                                   12   |                               15.5 |
| West Bengal   |                                                 1571.5 |                              716.3 |
| TOTAL         |                                                 3558.5 |                             2977.5 |

Approximately 3558.5 MLD (Million liters per day) sewage is generated in Ganga-front towns for which STPs with capacity of 2977.5 MLD have been installed and operational capacity is 2813 MLD. In addition, in Kolkata, East Kolkata Wetland caters to around 900 MLD of sewage treatment.

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