MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE
(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)
(a)& (b) Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) monitors water quality of aquatic resources at 3500 locations in the country under National Water Monitoring Programme (NWMP). Based on the assessment of water quality data carried out for the years 2016 and 2017, CPCB has identified 351 polluted river stretches on 323 rivers in 28 States and 3 Union Territories (UTs) based on exceedance of water quality criteria with respect to Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD); an indicator of organic pollution (3mg/l).
(c)& (d) Water Aid has not undertaken any independent assessment of surface water pollution in India and its report is based on assessment of CPCB and other organizations.
(e)& (f) Pollution abatement of rivers is a continuous and ongoing process. It is the primary responsibility of the State Governments/ local bodies concerned to set up facilities for collection, transportation and treatment of sewage being generated and ensure that untreated sewage is not discharged into the rivers, thereby polluting them. This Ministry has been supplementing the efforts of the State Governments in abatement of pollution in identified stretches of various rivers under the scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), on a cost sharing basis between the Central and State Governments.
NRCP {excluding Ganga and its tributaries, which are handled by Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation (MoWR,RD&GR) from 01/08/2014 onwards} has so far covered polluted stretches of 33 rivers in 76 towns spread over 15 States in the country at a sanctioned cost of Rs. 4801.57 crore, and Central share of Rs. 2337.73 crore has been released to the State Governments for implementation of various pollution abatement schemes. Sewage treatment capacity of 2520.43 mld (million litres per day) has been created so far under the NRCP.
State Governments, apart from their own budgetary allocation, are also accessing financial assistance for creation of sewerage infrastructure, including Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), in various cities/towns under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs as well as Namami Gange programme of MoWR,RD&GR.
To ensure proper treatment of municipal wastewater before discharge into the rivers, CPCB has issued directions under Section 18 1(b) of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 in April, 2015 to all the SPCBs)/PCCs in the country for setting up of STPs in their respective States. CPCB has also issued directions in October, 2015 to municipal authorities of 66 metropolitan cities and State capitals under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to ensure proper treatment and disposal of sewage generated for abatement of pollution of rivers.
Further, to control discharge of industrial effluents, CPCB and respective SPCBs/PCCs monitor industries with respect to effluent discharge standards and take action for non-compliance under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. To improve the monitoring of compliance, directions have been issued by CPCB to specific industries to install online 24x7 effluent monitoring systems. Steps have also been taken by CPCB to promote low waste concept in grossly water polluting industries, particularly those located on the river banks.
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