Parliament Question: Initiatives for Pollution Control and Waste Management

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5963 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.03.2026 Initiatives for Pollution Control and Waste Management 5963. SHRI ANUP SANJAY DHOTRE: Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government has implemented specific policies and programmes to reduce air, water and soil pollution in urban and industrial areas, particularly in Akola and Washim districts of Maharashtra and if so, the details thereof; (b) the measures taken by the Government to promote the adoption of clean technologies and pollution control equipment by industries operating in the said districts, along with any incentives or financial assistance provided; (c) the progress made in the implementation of solid waste management and plastic waste reduction strategies in the said districts, including details of infrastructure created and targets achieved; (d) whether the Government is collaborating with local municipalities, district administrations and Non-Governmental Organizations in the said districts to improve waste segregation at source and enhance recycling practices; and (e) the details of public awareness campaigns conducted in the said districts to promote environmental responsibility and community participation in pollution control initiatives? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH) (a) to (e): The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) prevents and control air and water pollution through enactment of Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 and notified different Rules, Regulations based on the said acts. As per the provisions of the above said acts, all industrial units and other establishments generating industrial effluents, emissions are required to comply with the stipulated standards before release of emission and discharging of effluents into rivers and water bodies. CPCB, State Pollution Control Boards (SPCB)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) monitor emissions and discharge of effluents from industries to ensure compliance of the provisions of the said Acts and take necessary action accordingly. CPCB issued indicative Guidelines for restorationof water bodies’ as a guidance to the Stakeholders for ensuring restoration/ rejuvenation of water bodies. The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India notifies industry specific discharge standards under Schedule-I: ‘Standards for Emission or Discharge of Environmental Pollutants from various Industries’ of Environment Protection Act, 1986. So far, industry specific environmental standards, for 79 industrial sectors (including emission standards for 56 sectors) have been notified. Industrial sectors, for which specific standards are not available, general standards as notified under Schedule-VI of Environment Protection Rules, 1986 shall be applicable. For strengthening monitoring mechanism and effective compliance through self-regulatory mechanism, CPCB directed all 17 categories of highly polluting industries to install Online Continuous Emission Monitoring System (OCEMS). Two industries namely M/s MSEDCL thermal power plant and M/s Basant Agrotech (I) Ltd. in Akola District have installed OCEMS. To control Air pollution in the country, Government of India has launched the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2019 as a long-term, time-bound, national-level strategy to address air pollution in 130 non-attainment and million plus cities/urban agglomeration in 24 States/UTs. City Specific Clean Air Action Plans have been prepared by all 130 cities under NCAP to implement air quality improvement measures in respective cities. These plans target air pollution sources like soil & road dust, vehicular emissions, waste burning, Construction & Demolition activities and industrial pollution. In Maharashtra, total 19 cities are covered under the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), including Akola as one of the Non-attainment cities. Akola is funded under the Control of Pollution scheme of MoEF&CC under NCAP and air quality performance-based incentive grant of ₹17.49 crore has been released to Akola to implement air quality improvement measures. City Clean Air Action Plan has been prepared for Akola targeting major pollution sources across key sectors, including road dust, vehicular pollution, open waste burning, etc. The City level committee under the Chairmanship of Commissioner Municipal Corporation, Akola has been constituted for the implementation of NCAP. Further, 4 air quality monitoring stations have been established and are operated by Maharashtra Pollution Control Board for monitoring the air quality in Akola. Under NCAP, Akola Municipal Corporation has undertaken end-to-end pavement of 155 km of roads, procurement of 12 Mechanical Road Sweepers, remediation of 65,000 tonnes of legacy waste, greening of 1.99 acre of open spaces and plantation of 36,500 saplings, etc. Due to coordinated efforts, Akola has shown reduction in air pollution by 33% in terms of PM₁₀ levels of 74 ug/m3 in 2024-25 as compared to 111 ug/m3 in 2017–18. To control Water Pollution across the country, National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWMP), a nation-wide programme is executed for the prevention, control and abatement of waterpollution and to collect, compile and publish technical and statistical data related to water pollution. The water quality data under National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWMP) 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) concentration. 2 Polluted River Stretches have been identified in Akola District namely, Purna River (Asegaon Purna to Dhupeshwar) and Morna River (Akola to Takli Jalam) as Priority-III (BOD levels:10 – 20 mg/l) and Priority- I (BOD levels>30 mg/l) in 2018. For rejuvenation of polluted river stretches 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. The action plans were prepared for bringing the polluted river stretches to obtain water quality level 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. Water quality of Purna River and Morna River has improved as the above mentioned Polluted River Stretches have been shifted to Priority-V (3-6 mg/l) and Priority-IV (BOD levels: 6-10 mg/l) respectively, in 2025. In Akola, a dedicated Solid Waste Management Plant is operational at Bhod, with a processing capacity of 250 TPD (Tonnes per day). Further, Municipal Council, Washim has established solid waste processing facility with capacity of 20 Ton / per day. Through the “Plastic Anti-Squad”, the Akola Municipal Corporation (AMC) has seized the banned Single Use Plastics in the last financial year. Further, to prevent soil and water pollution, Akola Municipal Corporation has commissioned Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) under AMRUT 1.0 and 2.0, to ensure that untreated domestic sewage does not enter local water bodies. Akola Municipal Corporation (AMC) maintains a 100% Door-to-Door collection of solid waste across all wards. Further, for source segregation, implementation of the “Two-Bin” system (Green for Wet, Blue for Dry) is monitored via GPS-enabled collection vehicles. Further, AMC collaborated with Self Help Groups (SHGs) for the “Majhi Vasundhara” (My Earth) initiative, focusing on waste-to-wealth projects and decentralized composting in public parks. In 2019, the Special Task Forces for solid waste management constituted under the chairmanship of Collector Washim and Akola. Akola Municipal Corporation has localized the Mission LiFE movement through Swacchh hotels, schools, hospital and ward competitions through monthly rankings of wards, hotels, schools, hospital based on cleanliness and segregation levels to foster healthy competition. Under ‘Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam’ campaign, 16,99,788 saplings have been planted in Akola and 17,68,000 saplings in Washim. ****