(a) whether the water of Ganga river is extremely polluted due to the discharge of
untreated sewage and hazardous industrial effluents from Kanpur to Diamond Harbour in
Kolkata;
(b) if so, the detail thereof along with the punitive action taken by the Government
against the erring units; and
(c) the amount spent on cleaning of Ganga through Ganga Basin Scheme and Mission
Clean Ganga during each of the last three years and the current year, year-wise?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS (SHRIMATI JAYANTHI
NATARAJAN)
(a ) to ( c) A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
Statement referred to in reply to parts ( a) to (c) of Lok Sabha Starred Question No. 83
to be answered on Monday, the 4th March, 2013 on “ Pollution in Ganga by Industrial
Units†by Shri Sugumar K. and Shri Sudarshan Bhagat
(a) The water quality of river Ganga is monitored by the Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB) from Gangotri (Uttarakhand) to Diamond Harbour (Kolkata) at 57 locations, out of
which 38 monitoring locations are between Kanpur and Diamond Harbour. The long term
assessment of water quality of river Ganga indicates that;
i. Dissolved Oxygen is meeting the criteria at almost all the monitoring locations from
Kanpur downstream to Diamond Harbour.
ii. The stretch of river Ganga in segment of Bihar is largely within the criteria limit
with respect to Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD).
iii. The stretch from Kanpur to Trighat in Uttar Pradesh and from Dakshineshwar to Garden
Reach in West Bengal exceeds the criteria limit with respect to BOD.
iv. Faecal Coliform is exceeding the criteria at almost all the monitoring locations from
Kanpur downstream to Diamond Harbour.
v. Pollution level in terms of BOD at both upstream and downstream of Kanpur city has
been reported high after joining of the rivers Ramganga and Kali-East at Kannuaj
(upstream of Kanpur), which discharges untreated/partially treated effluent from various
industries such as tanneries, Pulp & Paper, Sugar and Distillery.
(b) CPCB has identified 764 Grossly Polluting Industries (GPI) in 5 states on the main
stem of Ganga and its tributaries Kali- East and Ramganga. Out of 764 GPI, 387 have been
inspected by CPCB from August 2011 to January 2013 and action has been taken against
non-complying industries under the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974
and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
(c) Since inception of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) programme, 53
schemes in 43 towns in Ganga States have been sanctioned at a total cost of Rs. 2600
crore, out of which, Rs. 805.17 crore has been released so far. A total expenditure of
Rs. 557.60 crore, in addition to expenditure under the Ganga Action Plan has been
incurred till December, 2012 for implementation of the projects. A statement giving
total expenditure incurred on river Ganga in the last three years and current financial
year is as follow:
Rupees in crores
Year Expenditure on river Ganga
2009-10 50.30
2010-11 113.64
2011-12 263.36
2012-13 247.18
Total 674.48