(a) whether any study on various lakes of the country has been conducted on the initiative
of Planning Commission;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government is facing any difficulty in removing pollution from these lakes;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the steps taken by the Government in this regard and the success achieved so far?
THE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS (DR. M. VEERAPPA MOILY)
(a) & (b) In order to identify polluted and degraded lakes across the country, a study was
carried out at the instance of Planning Commission in the year 2003 and 62 lakes were
identified requiring conservation. Based on this, the State Governments and Union Territories
were requested to prioritize the lakes in their jurisdiction for financial assistance.
(c) to (e) For conservation and management of polluted and degraded lakes in urban and semi-
urban areas of the country, the Ministry has been implementing the scheme of National Lake
Conservation Plan (NLCP) on 70:30 cost sharing basis between the Central Government and the
State Governments. So far, 61 lakes conforming to the NLCP guidelines have been taken up for
conservation and an amount of Rs.1031.18 crore have been sanctioned for this purpose. Out of
the projects sanctioned under the scheme, conservation works have been completed for 27 lakes so far.