Lok Sabha Question No. 3791 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-22
Subject: Conservation of Rivers
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: RAOSAHEB PATIL DANVE, RAYAPATI SAMBASIVA RAO, KAMAKHYA PRASAD TASA, ANTO  ANTONY, DEVJI MANSINGRAM PATEL

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3791

TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.12.2015

## Conservation of Rivers

3791.  SHRI RAOSAHEB DANVE PATIL: SHRI RAYAPATI SAMBASIVA RAO: SHRI KAMAKHYA PRASAD TASA: SHRI ANTO ANTONY: SHRI DEVJI M. PATEL:

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

(a)  whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  for  the  conservation  and  rejuvenation  of rivers  and  its  tributaries  in  the  country  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof,  including endangered rivers;

(b) the details of ongoing projects in this regard and the details of rejuvenated rivers so far, river and State-wise;

(c)  the  details  of  funds  allocated/released  and  utilized  so  far  during  each  of  the  last three years and the current year, river and State-wise; and

(d)  whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  to  enact  a  legislation  to  check  illegal construction on river banks, indiscriminate exploitation of  groundwater and  for conservation of water/rivers and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  (INDEPENDENT  CHARGE)  FOR  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

(a) to (c) Discharge of untreated and partially treated sewage from cities/towns and industrial effluents constitute a major source of pollution in rivers. It is the responsibility of  the  State  Governments/  concerned  local  bodies  to  set  up  proper  facilities  for collection,  transportation  and  treatment  of  sewage  being  generated  and  ensure  that untreated sewage does not fall into the rivers thereby polluting them. This Ministry has been supplementing the efforts of the State Governments in abatement of pollution in identified  stretches  of  various  rivers  under  National  River  Conservation  Plan  (NRCP) and  NGRBA  (National  Ganga  River  Basin  Authority)  programmes,  on  cost  sharing basis  between  the  Central  and  State  Governments.  Various  pollution  abatement schemes taken-up under these programmes, inter-alia include interception & diversion of  raw  sewage,  construction  of  sewerage  systems,  setting  up  of  sewage  treatment plants, low cost sanitation facilities, electric/improved wood crematoria and river front development.  The  NGRBA programme along with work of Ganga & its  tributaries  is with  Ministry  of  Water  Resources,  River  Development  &  Ganga  Rejuvenation  from 01/08/2014  onwards.  The  programmes  of  NRCP  &  NGRBA  (till  01/08/2014)  have covered  polluted  stretches  of  42  rivers  in  199  towns  spread  over  21  States  at  a sanctioned  cost  of ` 11212.33  crore  so  far,  as  per  details  at  Annexure-I.  Sewage treatment capacity of 5084 million litres per day (mld) has been created so far under these two programmes.

The details of funds released to various State Governments for implementation of sanctioned  works  under  NRCP/NGRBA  programmes  during  the  last  three  years  and current year, State-wise are at Annexure-II.

The Government has in 2014 also initiated an Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission - 'Namami Gange' under the NGRBA programme for consolidating the ongoing efforts & planning for an integrated and comprehensive action plan for rejuvenation of Ganga  and  its  tributaries.The  State  Governments,  apart  from  their  own  budgetary allocation, are also accessing financial assistance for creation of sewerage infrastructure,  including  sewage  treatment  plants,  in  various  cities/towns  under  Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) programme of Ministry of Urban Development, and Swatch Bharat Abhiyan (Gramin) programme of Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued directions under Section 18 1(b) of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 in April, 2015 to all State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees regarding treatment and utilization  of  sewage  generated  in  their  respective  States.    CPCB  has  also  issued directions  to  178  towns  under  Section  5  of  Environment  (Protection)  Act,  1986  for proper treatment and disposal of sewage.

To control discharge of industrial effluents, CPCB and respective State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees  monitor  industries with respect to effluents  discharge  standards  and  take  action  for  non-compliance  under  the  Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. To improve the monitoring of compliance, directions have been issued to specific industries to install online 24x7 effluent and emission monitoring devices.    Steps have also been taken by CPCB to promote low waste and no waste concept leading to Zero Liquid Discharge by grossly water polluting industries, particularly those located on the river banks.

(d) Water  being  a  State  subject,  it  is  the  primary  responsibility  of  the  State Governments  to  regulate  construction  along  the  river  banks  and  indiscriminate exploitation of ground water. However, building and construction projects involving built up area of more than 20,000 square meters require prior environmental clearance of the concerned State Level Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA) under the provisions of  Environment  Impact  Assessment  (EIA)  Notification,  2006  of  this  Ministry,  as amended from time to time. Construction of various other projects, including river valley projects, listed in the schedule to the EIA Notification also require prior environmental clearance from this Ministry or the SEIAA concerned, depending upon the category of the  project.  In  addition,  this  Ministry  vide  its  Notification  of  December,  2012  has declared  the entire watershed of about 100 kilometers stretch of river Bhagirathi from Gomukh  to  Uttarkashi  covering  an  area  of  4,179.59  square  kilometres  as  an  Ecosensitive Zone, inter alia prohibiting and regulating certain activities within the zone.

Ministry  of  Water  Resources,  River  Development  &  Ganga  Rejuvenation  has also circulated a Model Bill to regulate and control development of ground water to all States/Union  Territories  (UTs)  to  make  suitable  legislation  to  regulate  utilisation  of ground water. So far, 15 States/UTs have enacted the legislation based on this Model Bill.

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Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3791 to be answered on Tuesday, the 22 nd December, 2015 on 'Conservation of rivers'

## State-wise details of sanctioned cost of projects under the National River Conservation Plan & National Ganga River Basin Authority programme s

( ` in crore)

| S. No.   | State          | Name of river                                                                 |   Sanctioned cost of projects* |
|----------|----------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| 1        | Andhra Pradesh | Godavari                                                                      |                          21.79 |
| 2        | Bihar          | Ganga                                                                         |                        1218.34 |
| 3        | Jharkhand      | Damodar, Ganga & Subarnarekha                                                 |                         103.12 |
| 4        | Gujarat        | Sabarmati, Mindhola                                                           |                         808.53 |
| 5        | Goa            | Mandovi                                                                       |                          14.1  |
| 6        | Karnataka      | Bhadra, Tunga-bhadra, Cauvery, Tunga & Pennar                                 |                          66.25 |
| 7        | Maharashtra    | Krishna, Godavari, Tapi & Panchganga                                          |                         192.6  |
| 8        | Madhya Pradesh | Betwa, Tapti, Wainganga, Khan, Narmada, Kshipra, Beehar, Chambal & Mandakini. |                         115.38 |
| 9        | Odisha         | Brahmini & Mahanadi                                                           |                          92.74 |
| 10       | Punjab         | Satluj & Beas & Ghaggar                                                       |                         774.43 |
| 11       | Rajasthan      | Chambal                                                                       |                         150.96 |
| 12       | Telangana      | Godavari & Musi                                                               |                         345.72 |
| 13       | Tamil Nadu     | Cauvery, Adyar, Cooum, Vennar, Vaigai & Tambarani                             |                         905.78 |
| 14       | Delhi          | Yamuna                                                                        |                         670.32 |
| 15       | Haryana        | Yamuna                                                                        |                         523.5  |
| 16       | Uttar Pradesh  | Yamuna, Ganga, Gomti & Ramganga                                               |                        3088.14 |
| 17       | Uttarakhand    | Ganga                                                                         |                         337.52 |
| 18       | West Bengal    | Ganga, Damodar & Mahananda                                                    |                        1500.77 |
| 19       | Kerala         | Pamba                                                                         |                          18.45 |
| 20       | Sikkim         | Rani Chu                                                                      |                         181.09 |
| 21       | Nagaland       | Diphu & Dhansiri                                                              |                          82.8  |
| Total    | Total          |                                                                               |                       11212.3  |

Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3791 to be answered on Tuesday, the 22 nd December, 2015 on 'Conservation of rivers'

## Details of funds released under National River Conservation Plan & National Ganga River Basin Authority programmes

| S. No.   | State         | Funds released ( ` in crore)   | Funds released ( ` in crore)   | Funds released ( ` in crore)   | Funds released ( ` in crore)       |
|----------|---------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|------------------------------------|
|          |               | 2012-13                        | 2013-14                        | 2014-15 *                      | 2015-16 (Upto 31 st October, 2015) |
| 1        | Bihar         | --                             | 91.14                          | --                             | --                                 |
| 2        | Jharkhand     | --                             | 6.26                           | --                             | --                                 |
| 3        | Gujarat       | 41.71                          | --                             | 44.00                          | 7.39                               |
| 4        | Maharashtra   | 5.07                           | 22.42                          | --                             | --                                 |
| 5        | Punjab        | 45.36                          | 98.04                          | 28.80                          | 17.61                              |
| 6        | Haryana       | 38.20                          | 10.00                          | 10.46                          | --                                 |
| 7        | Uttar Pradesh | 107.31                         | 133.80                         | 30.08                          | --                                 |
| 8        | Uttarakhand   | 11.30                          | 17.05                          | 3.00                           | --                                 |
| 9        | West Bengal   | --                             | 48.90                          | --                             | --                                 |
| 10       | Sikkim        | 21.65                          | 15.00                          | --                             | --                                 |
| 11       | Nagaland      | --                             | --                             | --                             | 10.00                              |
| Total    | Total         | 270.60                         | 442.61                         | 116.34                         | 35.00                              |