Parliament Question: Cleaning rivers and dams

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 263 ANSWERED ON 02.02.2026 CLEANING RIVERS AND DAMS 263. Dr. DHARMASTHALA VEERENDRA HEGGADE: Will the Minister of Jal Shakti be pleased to state: (a) whether Government has taken any steps to clean the major rivers and dams in the country and if so, the details thereof; (b) the major challenges faced by Government in cleaning rivers and dams and the steps being taken to address these challenges; (c) the details of progress made in cleaning major rivers and dams in the State of Karnataka during the last three years; and (d) the quantum of funds allocated specifically for cleaning rivers and dams in Karnataka during the said period? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) to (d) Cleaning and rejuvenation of rivers is a continuous process. It is the primary responsibility of the States/Union Territories (UTs), Local Bodies and Industrial Units to ensure required treatment of sewage and industrial effluents to the prescribed norms before discharging into rivers and other water bodies, coastal waters or land to prevent and control of pollution therein. For conservation of rivers, the Ministry of Jal Shakti has been supplementing the efforts of the States/UTs by providing financial and technical assistance for abatement of pollution in identified stretches of rivers in the country through the Central Sector Scheme of Namami Gange for rivers in Ganga basin, and the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for other river basins. NRCP has so far covered polluted river stretches on 57 rivers in 100 towns spread over 17 States/UTs in the country with the project sanctioned cost of Rs. 8971 crore, and inter-alia, a sewage treatment capacity of 3019 Million Litres per Day (MLD) has been created. Under the Namami Gange programme, a total of 218 numbers of sewerage infrastructure projects (STPs) costing Rs.35,698 crores have been taken up for remediation of polluted river areas with treatment capacity of 6610 MLD. 138 STPs with capacity of 3977 MLD have been completed and made operational. In addition, sewerage infrastructure is created under programs like Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs. Besides, Central Pollution 1Control Board/ State Pollution Control Board monitors the quality of water in rivers under National Water Quality Monitoring Programme. As per Central Pollution Control Board latest report, 2025 there is reduction of Polluted River Stretches from 17 to 14 in Karnataka as compared to CPCB, report of 2022. There is regular monitoring for river conservation and pollution abatement measures taken by States/UTs through River Rejuvenation Committee which are being monitored through the Central Monitoring Committee under Chairmanship of Secretary DoWR, RD & GR , Ministry of Jal Shakti. The Condition Assessment and Management Plan (CAMP) is an initiative of National River Conservation Directorate (NRCD) NRCD has engaged 12 institutes of National Importance IIT/NIT/NEERI to develop strategies for Six Major River Basins Mahanadi, Narmada, Krishna, Cauvery, Periyar and Godavari for conservation and pollution abatement of rivers. Similarly studies for biodiversity conservation of Flora & Fauna and assessment of ecological health for conservation of these rivers are conducted by Wild Life Institute (WII ) Dehradun. Majority of the dams are owned by the State Governments. The action for sediment management is taken by the States/other dam owners. However, the challenges associated with desilting dams in the country extend across economic, regulatory, technical and environmental dimensions, reflecting the complexity and multi-sectoral nature of the issue. Considering the importance of sediment management, various guiding documents have been published by the Central Government to guide the dam owners on these matters. In order to assist State Government in the matters related to sediment management, guidelines on “Assessing and Managing Reservoir Sedimentation” and “Operational Procedures for Assessing and Managing Environmental Impacts in Existing Dam Projects” was published in 2019 and 2020 respectively. In addition to above, Government of India published a 'National Framework on Sediment Management' in October, 2022 to assist the State Water Resource Departments /dam owners to deal with the matter of sediment management. In order to sensitize the States and dam owners for undertaking sediment management activities with focus on desilting of reservoirs. A workshop was organized on 09.01.2026 wherein the experience related to activities pertaining to desilting being carried out by some of the States viz. Rajasthan, Kerala, Punjab & Gujarat were shared with the participants. Under the externally funded Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) Phase II & III, provisions have been made for need-based de-siltation and sediment management works in select pilot reservoirs, aimed at restoring lost capacity to the maximum feasible extent. Central Water Commission, Ministry of Jal Shakti has reported that no proposal on cleaning of dams has been received in this context. ***** 2