(a) whether any study has been conducted by the Government regarding pollution in rivers caused by industries throughout the country including Tripura;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the efforts being made by the Government to reduce river pollution in the country?
THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)
(a) to (c) Discharge of untreated and partially treated sewage from towns and cities along the river banks and industrial effluent are the major causes of pollution in rivers. Central Pollution Control Board/ State Pollution Control Board/ Pollution Control Committee monitor pollution into the rivers & water bodies due to discharge of domestic sewage and industrial effluent. As per CPCB report of September, 2018, 351 polluted river stretches have been identified on 323 rivers based on the value of Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand(BOD); an indicator of organic pollution. In Tripura, 6 polluted river stretches have been identified falling into Priority V class as provided below:
RIVER NAME STRETCH IDENTIFIED PRIORITY
Burigaon Along Bishalgarh V
Gumti Telkajila To Amarpur V
Haora Agartala To Bishramganj V
Juri Along Dharma Nagar V
Khowai Along Teliamura V
Manu Along Kailashahar V
Contd...P/2
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Cleaning and rejuvenation of river is a continuous process and Central Government is supplementing the efforts of the State Governments and Union Territories in addressing the challenges of pollution of rivers by providing financial and technical assistance through schemes like National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) and Namami Gange. The NRCP has so far covered polluted stretches of 34 rivers in 77 towns spread over 16 States in the country with a sanctioned cost of Rs.5870.54 crore. Under Namami Gange, the rejuvenation of Ganga and its tributaries have been taken up. So far, a total 310 projects have been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.28790.66 crore under Namami Gange. Of these, 116 projects have been completed and made operational.
In addition, sewerage infrastructure is created under programs like Atal Mission For Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.
Also in compliance to Hon’ble NGT orders in OA No 673/2018, all State Governments and UT Administrations are directed to prepare action plans to bring the polluted river stretches to at least bathing standards.
Steps taken by the Government to stop discharge of industrial effluents into rivers inter alia, include issuance of notification of specific discharge standards, revision of the criteria for categorization of industries and issuing directions to all State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) to adopt the same, issuance of consent to establish/consent to operate by the SPCBs/PCCs, regular and surprise inspections of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) for compliance verification against stipulated environmental norms, installation of Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring System (OCEMS) for assessment of effluent quality and compliance status. In addition, the industries are encouraged to reduce their waste water generation by technological advancement, reuse/recycle of wastewater and maintain Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) where ever possible.
Further, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), SPCBs and PCCs monitor industries with respect to effluent discharge standards and take action for non-compliance under provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
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