Parliament Question: Air and Water Quality Monitoring Programme

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 21 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.07.2026 Air and Water Quality Monitoring Programme 21. DR. PRABHA MALLIKARJUN: Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has conducted any assessment of air and water quality under the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP) and the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWMP) in Karnataka, including districts experiencing rapid urbanisation; (b) if so, the number of operational monitoring stations in Karnataka, district-wise; (c) the latest air and water quality data reported from such districts and whether any areas have been identified as polluted or requiring urgent intervention; (d) the steps taken under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) and other Central initiatives for conservation and rejuvenation of water bodies in the said State; and (e) the action plan to improve environmental monitoring coverage in semi-urban districts ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH) (a) to (e): Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) carries out ambient air quality monitoring and water quality monitoring in Karnataka, in line with the criteria/ guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) namely, Guidelines for the Measurement of Ambient Air Pollutants (Volume-I: Guidelines for Manual Sampling & Analyses, and Volume-II: Guidelines for Real Time Sampling & Analyses) and Guidelines on Water Quality Monitoring, 2017. Karnataka State Pollution Control Board monitors water quality of aquatic resources at 358 locations in Karnataka. Detailed break-up is given below: Beach/ Rivers Coastal Ground State including Lakes Pond Tanks /Creek/ Reservoir Total Water Dam Marine/ Sea Karnataka 126 151 1 67 5 2 6 358 The State wise data on water quality and details of parameters monitored are available at CPCB website https://cpcb.gov.in/nwmp-data/. The water quality data is utilized for identification of Polluted River Stretches (PRS) based on the level of organic load which is measured in terms of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels. The PRS are classified under Priority Class-I to Priority Class-V, Priority- I being the most polluted with BODvalue of more than 30 mg/l and Priority-V being least polluted with BOD ranging between 3-6 mg/l. This system of classification of the Polluted River Stretches or locations is given below: Priority Class I Monitoring locations exceeding BOD concentration 30 mg/ L Priority Class II Monitoring locations having BOD between 20.1 – 30.0 mg/ L Priority Class III Monitoring locations having BOD between 10.1 – 20.0 mg/ L Priority Class IV Monitoring locations having BOD between 6.1 – 10.0 mg/ L Priority Class V Monitoring locations having BOD between 3.1 – 6.0 mg/ L Based on exceedance of Bathing Water Quality Criteria parameter of BOD (exceeding 3 mg/L), CPCB during the year 2018 identified 17 PRS in 17 Rivers in Karnataka. Similarly, during the year 2025, CPCB identified 14 PRS in 14 Rivers in Karnataka. Details of Polluted Rivers Stretches are as below: Polluted River Stretches in Karnataka Priority-wise Year I II III IV V Grand Total 2018 - - 4 7 6 17 2025 3 - 4 2 5 14 For rejuvenation of polluted river stretches identified by CPCB, action plans were prepared by River Rejuvenation Committees (RRC’s) constituted by the respective State Government/ UT Administration, under the overall supervision and coordination of Principal Secretary, Environment of the concerned State/ Union Territory for bringing all the polluted river stretches to achieve water quality levels fit for bathing purposes. Progress of implementation of action plans is reviewed by the RRC’s at State Level and by Central Monitoring Committee (CMC) constituted under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti at Central Level. Under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), four Non-attainment cities in Karnataka have been covered for implementation of air quality improvement measures. These cities namely Bengaluru, Davanagere, Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) and Hubballi-Dharwad were provided air quality performance based incentive grant of ₹ 625.94 crore during FY 2019-20 till 2025-26 for undertaking various air pollution mitigation measures as per the City action plans. All four NCAP cities in the State have shown improvement in average PM₁₀ concentration during 2025- 26 as compared to the base year 2017-18. Davanagere and Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) have achieved compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM₁₀. Davanagere recorded the highest improvement of 41%, followed by Hubballi-Dharwad with 23%, and Bengaluru with 17% improvement. Further, the city-wise air quality status of Karnataka cities covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) is provided at Annexure-I. The details of ambient air quality monitoring stations located in the State of Karnataka are provided at Annexure-II.To strengthen environmental monitoring coverage and improve the management of water resources, the Government has undertaken the following measures: • Under AMRUT 2.0, 159 water body rejuvenation projects worth ₹520.20 crore covering an area of 5884.85 acres in the State of Karnataka have been approved. • Government of India enacted the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and various provisions under The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for protection of water bodies and the Central & State Pollution Control Boards implement these provisions of both the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 & The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to prevent and control pollution of aquatic resources. • SPCBs/PCCs have been directed under Section 18(1) (b) of The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 vide letter dated 21.04.2015 to direct concerned agencies in the State/UT to develop infrastructure for sewage treatment. • Government of India stipulated General discharge standards and industry specific effluent discharge standards under the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986 with an aim to prevent pollution in the water bodies. • Indicative Guidelines for restoration of water bodies’ have been issued by CPCB as a guidance to the Stakeholders for ensuring restoration/ rejuvenation of water bodies.Annexure I City-wise air quality status of Karnataka under the NCAP Improvement Avg PM10 conc. Avg PM10 conc. City w.r.t. in 2017-18 in 2025-26 2017-18 Bengaluru 92 76 17% Devanagere 74 44* 41% Gulburga / 55 48* Kalaburgi 13% Hubli-Dharwad 79 61 23% * Two cities, namely Davanagere, Gulbarga/Kalaburgi have met the NAAQS for annual average PM10 levels in FY 2025-26 (60 µg/m3)Annexure II Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Network in Karnataka as on 05.03.2026 Number of ambient Sl.No. City / town air quality monitoring stations 1 Bagalkote 2 2 Bangalore 23 3 Belgaum 2 4 Bhadravati 1 5 Bidar 2 6 Bijapur / Vijayapura 2 7 Chamarajanagar 1 8 Chikkaballapur 1 9 Chikkamagaluru 1 10 Chitradurga 1 11 Devanagere 4 12 Gadag 1 13 Gulbarga 3 14 Hassan 2 15 Haveri 1 16 Hubli-Dharwad 5 17 Karwar 2 18 Kolar 2 19 Koppal 1 20 Madikeri 1 21 Mandya 1 22 Mangalore 2 23 Mysore 3 24 Raichur 2 25 Ramanagara 1 26 Shimaga / Shivamogga 2 27 Tumkuru 2 28 Udupi 1 29 Yadgir 1 Total 73 ***