Lok Sabha Question No. 4863 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-23
Subject: Pollution Mitigation and River Conservation Measures
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Dushyant Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4863 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026

## Pollution Mitigation and River Conservation Measures

## 4863. SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH:

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

- (a) the present status of polluted river stretches identified by the Central Pollution Control Board and the progress made in restoration of such stretches in coordination with States;
- (b) the pollution mitigation measures undertaken to control discharge of untreated sewage and  industrial  effluents,  including  strengthening  of  compliance  monitoring  and enforcement mechanisms;
- (c) whether convergence mechanisms have been established with the Ministry of Jal Shakti and  other  concerned  Ministries  for  river  rejuvenation,  biodiversity  conservation, wetland protection and ecological restoration of river basins;
- (d) the steps taken to regulate, relocate or ensure compliance of polluting industries situated along riverbanks and to strengthen real-time water quality monitoring; and
- (e) the  initiatives  undertaken  to  involve  local  communities,  urban  local  bodies  and panchayats in river conservation through awareness programmes, biodiversity protection efforts and citizen participation mechanisms?

## 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  2265  locations  on  rivers  under National  Water  Quality  Monitoring  Programme  (NWMP).  The  water  quality  data  under NWMP is utilised for identification of Polluted River Stretches (PRS), the location / stretches of  rivers  that  are  not  meeting  the  Primary  Water  Quality  criterion  for  outdoor  bathing  for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) parameter (indicator of organic pollution) are identified as polluted location/ stretches. The PRS are  classified under Priority Classes as Priority Class I to Priority Class V, Priority I being most polluted with BOD value of more than 30 mg/l and Priority V being least polluted with BOD ranging between 3 - 6 mg/l.

As per the recent PRS assessment done by CPCB in 2025, based on 2022 & 2023 data , 296 polluted river stretches have been identified on 271 rivers. Comprehensive action plans were prepared  for  rejuvenation  of  identified  PRS  by  River  Rejuvenation  Committees  (RRCs) constituted  by  the  respective  State  Government/  UT  Administration,  under  the  overall supervision  and  coordination  of  Principal  Secretary,  Environment  of  the  concerned  State

/Union  Territory  for  bringing  all  the  PRS  fit  for  bathing  purposes.    The  progress  of  the implementation  of  action  plans  is  reviewed  by  the  RRCs  at  State  Level  and  by  Central Monitoring Committee (CMC) constituted at Ministry of Jal Shakti at Central Level. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has developed convergence mechanism with other ministries  such  as  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change,  the  Ministry  of Agriculture,  etc.  for  river  rejuvenation,  biodiversity  conservation,  wetland  protection  and ecological restoration of river basins.

The Namami Gange programme, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti is a flagship scheme that integrated conservation mission for river rejuvenation. 'Jan Ganga' is an important pillar of the Namami  Gange  programme,  which  focuses  on  public  awareness  and  building  community ownership  to  transform  river  conservation  into  mass  movement.  NMCG  conducts  diverse activities  to  foster  and  strengthen  people-river  connect.  Various  awareness  campaigns  are regularly organized towards sensitizing the youth and local communities towards preventing plastic use, water conservation and the environment. 139 District Ganga Committees have been constituted  across  the  5  Ganga  basin  States  to  oversee  the  pollution  abatement  and  ensure people's participation at the district level.

Further, As per Section 41 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) are constituted at every local body level. The functions of BMCs include conservation, sustainable use and documentation of biological diversity, including conservation of habitats, landraces, folk varieties, cultivars, domesticated breeds of animals, and microorganisms, and chronicling of traditional knowledge associated thereto relating to biological diversity.

Measures undertaken to control discharge of untreated sewage, industrial effluents, to regulate and monitor to ensure compliance of polluting industries are detailed at Annexure I .

To  control  the  discharge  of  untreated  sewage  and  industrial  effluents  into  the  rivers,  the following pollution mitigation measures including strengthening of compliance monitoring and enforcement mechanisms have been undertaken:

1. The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of  India  notifies  'Standards for  Emission  or  Discharge  of  Environmental  Pollutants from various Industries' under Schedule-I of the Environment Protection Rules, 1986. So far, 79 industrial specific environmental standards have been notified. The industrial sectors, for  which specific  standards are  not available,  general  standards as  notified under Schedule-VI of the Environment Protection Rules, 1986 are applicable.
2. All  the  Grossly  Polluting  Industries  (GPIs)  are  required  to  be  provided  adequate pollution control system for effluent as well emission. It is obligatory on the part of industries to install effluent treatment plants (ETPs) to comply with the notified effluent discharge standards.
3. CPCB organizes annual inspection  of Grossly Polluting Industries  (GPIs)  including Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) operating in river Ganga and Yamuna main stem States having potential to discharge into river Ganga & its tributaries by joint teams  of  officials  from  third  party  technical  institutes  and  State  Pollution  Control Boards/ Committee (SPCBs/PCC) since 2017.
4. The SPCBs/PCCs ensure compliance by granting prior consent (Consent to Establish (CTE)/Consent to Operate (CTO) as per the provisions of the Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act. 1981.
5. The Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) are  installed by 17 categories of industries and Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) in the country as per directives issued by CPCB. This initiative provides real-time information on effluent quality, enabling the identification of non-complying units and the implementation of corrective actions.
6. CPCB developed Charter in consultation with the major industrial sectors like pulp & paper,  sugar,  distillery,  textile  and  tannery  resulting  in  reduction  in  fresh  water consumption, waste water discharge & pollution load and improvement in compliance.
7. CPCB periodically  review  water  quality  data  of  aquatic  resources  monitored  under NWMP and share with concerned SPCBs/ PCCs.
8. CPCB directed all SPCBs/PCCs 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.
9. Monitoring of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in river Ganga-front towns in the Ganga main stem states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal is carried out on a tri-annual basis. In the consent to operate issued by SPCBs, all STPs are required to be complying with norms stipulated as per the CTO.
10. National framework on safe reuse of treated water has been issued by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in November 2022.

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