Question : Cleanliness on Beaches

(a) whether a number of beaches in the country have got the blue tag which is bestowed upon the cleanest beaches in the world and if so, the details thereof; State/UT-wise;
(b) whether one of the main concerns of tourists visiting beaches is the high level of pollution of beaches and waterways and if so, the details thereof along with the major sources of beach pollution ;
(c) whether the Government is taking any measures and providing assistance to the States for better maintenance of hygienic standards and high level of cleanliness on the beaches in various parts of the country ;
(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons thereof; and
(e) the other steps taken by the Government to improve the cleanliness of the beaches to compete in the world ranking and to impose heavy fines on defacement?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a): 8 beaches in India have got Blue Flag Certificate in October 2020.The details are as follows:
Sr. No. Name of the Beach Name of the State/UT
1 Shivrajpur Gujarat
2 Ghoghla Diu, (Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu)
3 Kasarkod Karnataka
4 Padubidri Karnataka
5 Kappad Kerala
6 Rushikonda Andhra Pradesh
7 Golden Odisha
8 Radhanagar Andaman & Nicobar Islands

(b): Pollution of beaches and waterways is one of the concerns of tourists visiting beaches. Beaches particularly adjacent to river mouths, municipality run off creeks, close to urban settlement/industries exhibit relatively higher pollution. A study by National Center for Coastal Research (NCCR), Ministry of Earth sciences (MoES), on qualitative analysis of litter in different beaches along the east and west coast of India finds that the plastic litter from tourism varies from 40% at Elliot’s Beach, Chennai to 96% at Gopalpur Beach, Odisha.

(c) to (e): MoEFCC has notified Solid Waste Management (SWM) Rules, 2016 and Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 as measures for prevention, control and environment friendly management of waste.

MoEFCC has provided assistance in development of environment friendly infrastructure and support systems at 10 beaches namely; Ghoghla (Diu), Shivrajpur (Gujarat), Kasarkod & Padubidri (Karnataka), Kappad (Kerala) Kovalam (Tamil Nadu), Eden (Puducherry), Rushikonda (Andhra Pradesh), Golden (Odisha) and Radhanagar (Andaman & Nicobar Island).These beaches are notified zones for "No Plastic", "No Dumping", "No Driving" and promotes “ZERO WASTE" "ZERO POLLUTION" concept.

MoEFCC had organized a nationwide campaign #IAMSAVINGMYBEACH for creating awareness on beach cleaning and aesthetic management. In addition to this, Ministry organised a week-long intensive beach cleaning-cum awareness drive named as “Swachh-Nirmal Tat Abhiyan” from 11th to 17th November 2019 at 50 beaches in 10 Coastal states/UTs.

There is no competition for ranking of beaches in the world.

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