(a) whether the Government has formulated any scheme to make the major rivers of the country pollution free;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) the amount of funds allocated by the Government for implementation of the said scheme;
(d) whether the State Governments also spend funds under such schemes; and
(e) if so, the details of the expenditure incurred by the State Governments under such schemes, State-wise?
MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)
(a)to (e) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
*****
Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No.485 to be answered on Friday, the 26th July, 2019 on ‘Pollution in Rivers’ by Shri Prataprao Jadhav
(a) and (b) Water being a State subject and its management including conservation of rivers and revival of water bodies in the Country is primarily State’s responsibility. Pollution abatement of rivers is a continuous and ongoing process. It is the responsibility of the State Governments/concerned local bodies to set up facilities for collection, transportation and treatment of sewage for abatement of pollution of rivers. This Ministry has been supplementing the efforts of the State Governments in abatement of pollution in rivers under the scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), on a cost sharing basis between the Central and State Governments. Project proposals are received from the State Governments from time to time for taking up pollution abatement works in towns along various rivers, and are considered for financial assistance under the NRCP subject to their conformity with the scheme guidelines, pollution status, prioritization, appraisal by independent institutions and availability of Plan funds. The subject has since been transferred to the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
Ministry of Jal Shakti has launched the Namami Gange Programme in July 2014 with total budgetary outlay of Rs. 20,000 crore for the period from 2014-15 till December 2020 to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga and its tributaries.
(c) to (e) NRCP (excluding Ganga and its tributaries) has so far covered polluted stretches of 34 rivers in 77 towns spread over 16 States in the country at a sanctioned cost of Rs. 5870.54 crore, and Central share of Rs. 2378.73 crore has been released to the State Governments for implementation of various pollution abatement schemes. Sewage treatment capacity of 2522.03 mld (million litres per day) has been created so far under the NRCP resulting in reduction in pollution load being discharged into the rivers. State-wise details of rivers covered, sanctioned cost, funds released and expenditure incurred by the state to various State Governments under NRCP so far are given at Annexure.
State Governments, apart from their own budgetary allocation, are also accessing financial assistance for creation of sewerage infrastructure, including sewage treatment plants (STPs), in various cities/towns under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs as well as Namami Gange programme of Department of Water Resource, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
****