Question : Pollution in Rivers

(a) whether a large number of rivers in the country has been polluted and water of some rivers are becoming toxic at present and if so, the details of polluted rivers identified by the Government, river-wise;

(b) whether rivers are getting polluted on large scale due to flow of untreated sewage, industrial and hotel waste directly into rivers, streams and rivulets, if so, the State/UT-wise details thereof along with the action taken against such industries/factories;

(c) the details of schemes implemented/being implemented and projects being run by the Government to save these rivers from pollution, river-wise;

(d) whether the Government has appointed any monitoring Committee to identify the most polluted rivers other than the river Ganga and if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the details of steps taken by the Government for cleaning polluted rivers along with funds sanctioned, allocated and utilized during the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

(a) to (e) Pollution load in rivers has increased over the years due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. Rivers in the country are mainly polluted due to discharge of untreated and partially treated sewage from cities/towns and industrial effluents. Non-point sources of pollution like agricultural runoff, open defecation, runoff from solid waste dump sites, etc. also contribute to pollution of rivers. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with the State Pollution Control Boards monitors the water quality of rivers across the country through a network of monitoring stations under the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme. As per the report published by CPCB in February 2015, 302 polluted river stretches have been identified on 275 rivers based on Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels, a key indicator of organic pollution. The State-wise details of identified polluted river stretches are at Annexure-I.

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. NRCP {excluding Ganga and its tributaries, which are handled by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR,RD&GR) from 01/08/2014 onwards} has so far covered polluted stretches of 32 rivers in 76 towns spread over 14 States in the country at a sanctioned cost of Rs. 4581.91 crore, and Central share of Rs. 2258.72 crore has been released to the State Governments for implementation of various pollution abatement schemes. Sewage treatment capacity of 2472.43 mld (million litres per day) has been created so far under the NRCP. State-wise details of rivers covered, sanctioned cost of projects, funds released till date as well as during the last three years and current financial year under NRCP are given at Annexure-II.

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 MoWR,RD&GR.

To ensure proper treatment of municipal wastewater before discharge into the rivers, CPCB has issued directions under Section 18 1(b) of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 in April, 2015 to all the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in the country for setting up of STPs in their respective States. CPCB also issued directions in October, 2015 to municipal authorities of 184 towns (66 metropolitan cities and State capitals + towns along river Ganga) under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to ensure proper treatment and disposal of sewage generated for abatement of pollution of rivers.

Further, to control discharge of industrial effluents, CPCB and respective SPCBs/PCCs monitor industries with respect to effluent 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 by CPCB to specific industries to install online 24x7 effluent monitoring devices. Steps have also been taken by CPCB to promote low waste concept in grossly water polluting industries, particularly those located on the river banks.

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