THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI & SOCIAL JUSTICE AND EMPOWERMENT
(SHRI RATTAN LAL KATARIA)
(a) to (e) Rivers in the country are polluted mainly 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. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in collaboration with the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) is regularly monitoring the water quality of rivers & other water bodies in the country through a network of monitoring stations. As per CPCB report of September, 2018, 351 polluted river stretches have been identified on 323 rivers based on monitoring results in terms of Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels, an indicator of organic pollution.
According to CPCB, there are total 2968 Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) in the country which are discharging their effluents in various water bodies, including rivers. Out of these 2968 industries, 2318 industries are operational and 650 industries are self-closed. Number of complying and non-complying industries are 2190 and 128 respectively. Legal action is under process for 15 industries while action has been initiated against 2 industries. Show cause notice has been issued to 56 non-complying industries, and closure directions have been issued to 55 industries. State-wise status of GPI units in the country is enclosed at Annexure-I.
Contd…P/2
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As per the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act 1974, industrial units are required to either install individual effluent treatment plants (ETPs) or treat their effluent through common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) to comply with the stipulated environmental standards before discharging into water bodies. Accordingly, CPCB, SPCBs and PCCs regularly monitor industries with respect to effluent discharge standards and take action in case of non-compliance under the provisions of these Acts.
Details of financial assistance provided to the State Governments for installation of CETPs for control of industrial waste discharge into rivers during each of the last three years and the current year is at Annexure-II.
(f) Steps taken by the Government to stop discharge of effluents into rivers inter alia, include notification of industry specific discharge standards, revision of the criteria for categorization of industries and issuing directions to all SPCBs/ PCCs to adopt the same, issuance of consent to establish/consent to operate by the SPCBs/PCCs, regular inspections of Grossly Polluting Industries by CPCB for compliance verification through third party technical institutes and 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 wastewater generation by technological advancement, reuse/recycle of treated wastewater and maintain Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD); where ever possible. CPCB has also circulated indicative guidelines for restoration of water bodies to all the States.
Cleaning and rejuvenation of rivers is a continuous process and Central Government is supplementing the efforts of the State Governments in addressing the challenges of river rejuvenation through programmes like Namami Gange and National River Conservation Plan (NRCP). 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.5965.90 crore & sewage treatment capacity of 2522.03 million litres per day (mld) has been created. Under Namami Gange programme, a total of 333 projects have been sanctioned at a cost of Rs.29,571 crore so far, of which 140 projects have been completed and made operational. Out of 333 projects, 154 projects are in the sewerage sector for creation of new sewage treatment capacity of 3785 mld, rehabilitation of 1081 mld treatment capacity and sewerage network of 5066 kms. In West Bengal, 23 sewerage projects have been taken-up under Namami Gange for creating 869 MLD sewage treatment capacity.
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, in compliance of the orders of Hon’ble National Green Tribunal in OA No.673/2018, concerned States, including West Bengal, are implementing Action Plans (including those for industrial pollution control for restoration of water quality in the identified polluted stretches of rivers in their respective States.
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ANNEXURE-I
Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.†1765 to be answered on the 11.02.2021 regarding “Industrial Pollution”.
Status of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs)
Sl. No. SPCB/PCC Total no. of industries No. of industries closed by their own No. of industries operational No. of industries complying with environmental standards No. of industries non-complying with environmental standards No. of industries against which action is taken for non-complying with environmental standards
Show cause notice issued Closure directions issued Legal cases filed Action under process
1 Andaman & Nicobar 2 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 0
2 Andhra Pradesh 198 5 193 189 4 4 0 0 0
3 Arunachal Pradesh 97 8 89 63 26 3 23 0 0
4 Assam 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5 Bihar 84 34 50 50 0 0 0 0 0
6 Chandigarh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
7 Chhattisgarh 2 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 0
8 Daman & Diu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
9 Delhi 3 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0
10 Goa 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
11 Gujarat 22 4 18 18 0 0 0 0 0
12 Haryana 627 27 600 594 6 0 6 0 0
13 Himachal Pradesh 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 Jammu and Kashmir 69 0 69 66 3 3 0 0 0
15 Jharkhand 45 6 39 5 34 14 10 2 8
16 Karnataka 4 0 4 4 0 0 0 0 0
17 Kerala 29 1 28 27 1 0 1 0 0
18 Lakshadweep 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
19 Madhya Pradesh 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
20 Maharashtra 4 1 3 3 0 0 0 0 0
21 Manipur 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
22 Meghalaya 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
23 Mizoram 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
24 Nagaland 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
25 Odisha 6 0 6 6 0 0 0 0 0
26 Puducherry 3 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 0
27 Punjab 5 0 5 2 3 3 0 0 0
28 Rajasthan 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
29 Sikkim 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
30 Tamil Nadu 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
31 Telangana 3 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
32 Tripura 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 Uttar Pradesh 1648 560 1088 1047 41 22 13 0 6
34 Uttarakhand 64 0 64 60 4 4 0 0 0
35 West Bengal 48 3 45 41 4 3 0 0 1
Total 2968 650 2318 2190 128 56 55 2 15
ANNEXURE-II
Annexure referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No.†1765 to be answered on the 11.02.2021 regarding “Industrial Pollution”.
State-wise details of funds release for Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) during the last three years and current years is given below.
S.No. Name of State Fund Released in Crore
2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21
(till date)
1 Punjab 3.50 6.13 6.25 18.58
2 Gujarat - - 1.26 -
3 Uttar Pradesh - - 49.67 47.40
Total 3.50 6.13 57.18 65.98
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