Lok Sabha Question No. 2567 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-09
Subject: Environmental Degradation in Karnataka
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shri Basavaraj Bommai

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2567

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.03.2026

## Environmental Degradation in Karnataka

## 2567.  SHRI BASAVARAJ BOMMAI:

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

- (a)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  note  of  worsening  environmental  degradation,  including deforestation, water and air pollution and ground water depletion in Karnataka; and
- (b) if so, the corrective steps taken to address the same so far?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a)  and  (b): The  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change  (MoEF&CC)  regulates environment, forest, water and air quality by enactment of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, Indian Forest Act, 1927, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, and different Rules, Regulations based on the said acts to implement various Schemes for protection and development of air and water bodies, environment and forest.

As  per  the  provisions  of  the  above  said  acts,  all  industrial  units  and  other  establishments  generating industrial  effluents, emissions are  required  to comply with the stipulated standards before release of emission and discharging of effluents into rivers and water bodies.

State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees, through Consent mechanism under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act,  1981,  monitor  the  establishment  and  operation  of  industries  and  polluting  activities  through prescription of pollution control measures and monitoring the compliance of environmental standards.

To  control  Air  pollution  in  the  country,  Government  of  India  has  launched  the  National  Clean  Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 as a long-term, time-bound, national-level strategy to address air pollution in 130 non-attainment and million plus cities/urban agglomeration in 24 States/UTs which includes 04 Cities of Karnataka namely Bengaluru, Devanagere, Gulburga and Hubli-Dharwad.

Air  quality  performance  grant  of  Rs.  625.93  crore  has  been  provided  to  above  mentioned  cities  of Karnataka for implementation of city action plans to take measures to improve air quality.

Clean  Air  State  Action  Plan  (SAP)  for  Karnataka  has  been  prepared  by  the  State-level  Air  Quality Monitoring Committee (AQMC). The SAP incorporates State-specific schemes, policies, and targeted interventions aimed at improving ambient air quality in a sustained manner in the whole State. It includes sector-wise action points addressing vehicular emissions, construction and demolition waste management, road dust mitigation, control of biomass burning, and industrial emissions.

To monitor the air quality in the State, Karnataka has an air quality network of total 73 stations (42 CAAQMS and 31 Manual stations) across 29 cities in the State. Out of which, Bengaluru has 23 ambient air quality monitoring stations (14 CAAQMS and 09 manual stations).

Due to various interventions taken by the Government, out of 4 non-attainment / million plus cities of Karnataka, decrease in PM10 concentration has been observed in 3 cities in FY 2024-25 as compared to levels during FY 2017-18.

To control industrial pollution, the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has notified 'Standards for Emission or Discharge of Environmental Pollutants for various industries' under Schedule-I of the Environment Protection Rules, 1986.

Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has informed that the cement industries are mandated to provide Air Pollution Control equipment such as Electrostatic Precipitator and Bag House / Bag Filters for  effective  dust  control  from  process  stacks,  material  handling/  transfer  points,  coal  mills,  packing section  etc.,  to  meet  the  standards  stipulated  under  the  Environment  (Protection)  Act  1986.  Further, cement industries are mandated to provide Online Continuous Emission Monitoring System (OCEMS) on the major stacks as per Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines, and ensure real time data connectivity  to  KSPCB/  CPCB  server,  along  with  provision  of  Continuous  Ambient  Air  Quality Monitoring (CAAQM) stations for continuous monitoring of ambient air and effective implementation of fugitive dust control measures. A specific condition is also stipulated in the consent mandating units to  adhere  with  CPCB  guidelines  for  fugitive  dust  control  and  Standard  Operating  Procedure  for  coprocessing of wastes. A specific condition to develop minimum greenbelt in the industry premises is also stipulated  in  the  Environment  Clearances  issued  to  cement  industries,  which  is  further  emphasised through the conditions prescribed in the Consent to Establish (CTE) / Consent to Operate (CTO) issued to the industries, and verified for compliance by the KSPCB.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) identified critically, severely and other polluted industrial areas in  Karnataka  based  on  Comprehensive  Environment  Pollution  Index  (CEPI),  namely  Peenya,  Bidar, Bhadravati, Mangalaore, KIADB Industrial Area and Raichur Industrial areas. Action plans for reducing the  CEPI  score  in  these  industrial  areas  have  been  prepared  and  implemented  by  Karnataka  State Pollution Control Board.

The  Central  Pollution  Control  Board  (CPCB)  in  collaboration  with  State  Pollution  Control  Boards (SPCBs),  and  Pollution  Control  Committees  (PCCs)  in  Union  Territories  has  established  a  National Water Quality Monitoring Network (NWMP) in order to regularly assess status of water quality of water resources to facilitate prevention and control of pollution in water bodies. Under NWMP, 325 monitoring locations including rivers, Lakes, Ponds & Tanks in the State of Karnataka has been established. Based on the assessment of water quality data for the year 2022 and 2023 the polluted river stretches have been identified in year 2025. In Karnataka, 14 PRS (03 PRS under Priority Class-I, 04 PRS under Priority

Class-III, 02 PRS under Priority Class-IV and 05 PRS under Priority Class-V) have been identified in the current assessment.

For rejuvenation  of  these  polluted  river  stretches,  action  plans  were  prepared  by  River  Rejuvenation Committees  (RRC's)  constituted  by  the  State Government,  under  the  overall  supervision  and coordination of Principal Secretary, Environment Department of the State. Based on the comparative assessment  of  PRS  identified  in  year  2018  and  2025,  04  PRS  which  were  identified  in  the  state  of Karnataka during 2018 assessment are not identified during 2025 assessment. Further, 05 PRS have been shifted to  lower  priority  class  reflecting  improvement  in water  quality  based  on  assessment  of  water quality data for the years 2022 and 2023.

Karnataka has a total of 316 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), including the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), of which 27 are covered under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and 288 fall under the non-AMRUT category. Across the State, sewage treatment facilities have been established in 132 ULBs to treat domestic sewage and sullage.

Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) conducts periodic groundwater quality monitoring to identify both contaminated and non-contaminated areas including urban areas in the country. Data collected by CGWB for Karnataka indicated that about 68.55 % of the analyzed wells exhibit rising water levels, whereas about 31.08 % of the analyzed wells have shown declining water levels. CGWB has prepared District Recharge Plan for 18 water stressed districts of Karnataka in the year 2022-23. The district recharge plans have been shared with Ground Water Department, Govt. of Karnataka.

Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) also issues notifications and directions to State Governments and the Administrators of the UTs to adopt Roof Top Rainwater Harvesting (RTRWH) in all the 'Critical' and 'Over-exploited' assessment units (blocks/Taluks/Districts/Valley/Islands/Region/Tehsil, etc.) in the country and in all the Government buildings under their jurisdiction.

National  Water  Policy  (2012)  has  been  formulated  by  Department  of  Water  Resources,  River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, that inter-alia advocates rainwater harvesting and conservation of water and highlights the need for augmenting the availability of water through direct use of rainfall. It also inter-alia, advocates conservation of river, river bodies and infrastructure should be undertaken in a scientifically planned manner through community participation.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti launched the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) in 2019 as a time-bound, mission-mode water conservation campaign in 256 water-stressed districts. Jal Shakti Abhiyan: Catch the Rain (JSA: CTR) with the tagline: 'Catch The Rain, Where It falls, When It Falls' was expanded pan India in 2021. Vide Jal Sanchay Jan Bhagidari under JSA, 1,83,633 works of artificial groundwater recharge and storage works, respectively have been completed across 31 Districts of Karnataka.

Ministry  of  Jal  Shakti  has  notified  guidelines  for  regulation  of  groundwater  extraction  by  industries, infrastructure  and  mining  projects.  The  said  guidelines  have  provisions  for  water  conservation  and limiting water usage. Project Proponents (Industry, Infrastructure and Mining) are required to submit Rainwater Harvesting Plan submitted to Government agency by the applicant or a proposal for rainwater harvesting/ recharge in the project premises as per the prevailing Model Building Bye-Laws issued by

Ministry  of  Housing  &  Urban  Affairs,  Government  of  India  for  obtaining  No  Objection  Certificate (NOC) from CGWA for ground water extraction.

The Ministry provides technical and financial support to States and UTs through various schemes and programmes  of  the  Central  Government  for  enhancement  of  forest  cover  including  protection, conservation and management of forests in the country. This includes the National Mission for a Green India (GIM), Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme (FPM), Nagar Van Yojana (NVY), and Integrated  Development  of  Wildlife  Habitats.  National  Mission  for  a  Green  India  (GIM)  aims  at protection,  restoration  and  enhancing  India's  forest  cover  and  responding  to  Climate  Change  by undertaking eco-restoration/plantation activities. So far, a sum of Rs. 1,016.21 crores have been allocated to seventeen States and one Union Territory, including Karnataka for plantation/ eco-restoration. The Ministry is also implementing Nagar Van Yojana since 2020-21, funded through National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), with an aim to create forest/ green spaces in urban areas by developing Nagar Van/ Vatikas and to protect forest lands within cities/ towns or its fringes from degradation and encroachment.  Further, a plantation campaign ' एक पेड़ माँ क े नाम #Plant4Mother' has also been launched on the occasion of World Environment Day 2024 to undertake plantation activities across the country. This campaign follows the 'Whole of Government' and 'Whole of Society' approach with participation of all stakeholders for increasing the green cover in the country. The  campaign  has  contributed  large  scale  plantation  aiding  the  enhancement  of  green  cover  in  the country.  Under  the  campaign,  during  the  years  2024-25  and  2025-26,  the  cumulative  progress  of plantation reported by the States/UTs is more than 268 Crore saplings, including 5.83 crore saplings planted in Karnataka State.

As per India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2023, Forest and tree cover in Karnataka in 2023 increased by 8.53% and 31.40% respectively compared to 2013.

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