THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)
(a) & (b) Public participation is a very important component of river conservation/rejuvenation programme. Under National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) and Namami Gange programme, of this Ministry financial assistance is provided to the participating States for undertaking various conservation/rejuvenation activities including education and awareness among the local people, students and other stakeholders about the value, functions and ecological services of rivers through awareness campaign/publication, distribution of pamphlets, video films, Yatras, slogan/drawing/essay competitions, etc.
(c) Cleaning and rejuvenation of rivers 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 NRCP and Namami Gange. 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 STP (Sewerage Treatment Plant) capacity of 2522.03 million liters per day (MLD) has been created so far. Under Namami Gange programe, a total of 315 projects have been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.28854.11 crore,
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which includes 151 sewerage projects. Through construction of new STPs and rehabilitation of old STPs, against a sewage generation of 2950 MLD from 97 towns along Ganga, projects for 3300 MLD capacity creation has been sanctioned and capacity of 2180 MLD has been reached.In addition, sewerage infrastructure is also being created under programs like Atal Mission For Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.
Besides, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had issued directions on 21.04.2015 to the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) in the country under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 for collection, transportation and treatment of sewage generated in urban areas in their respective States. CPCB also issued directions on 09.10.2015 under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to local authorities of metropolitan cities, State capitals & towns along river Ganga to ensure proper treatment & disposal of sewage in accordance with the stipulated standards.
CPCB, SPCBs and alsi PCCs monitor industries regularly 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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(d) & (e) CPCB have also informed that based on water quality monitoring of river Ganga being carried out for pre as well as lockdown period and studies conducted by them, SPCBs and other agencies to assess the impact of lockdown on the water quality of river Ganga and its tributaries, no definite trend was observed in different water quality parameters for various stretches of river Ganga and its tributaries. However, varying degrees of improvement in a few water quality parameters has been observed as per CPCB & SPCB reports along various stretches of river Ganga and its tributaries, which may be attributed to various factors like increased availability of water due to rainfall in the river catchment, no industrial effluent discharge and reduced human activity such as restriction on bathing, restricted tourism, solid waste dumping, washing of clothes, etc.
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