Parliament Question: Pollution Level in Ganga River in Varanasi

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1136 ANSWERED ON 05.02.2026 POLLUTION LEVEL IN GANGA RIVER IN VARANASI

1136. Smt. SATABDI ROY:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the pollution level in the Ganga River in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh since 2014, year-wise; and

(b) the details of the funds utilised for cleaning the stretch of the river in and around Varanasi since 2014, year-wise? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY)

(a) The pollution status of the River Ganga is monitored by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) through 112 water quality monitoring stations.The rivers are classified into five priority classes by CPCB as follows;

Priority Class BOD Concentration Range (mg/L) Priority I > 30 (most polluted) Priority II 20 – 30 Priority III 10 – 20 Priority IV 6 – 10 Priority V 3 – 6 (least polluted) As per CPCB’s PRS assessment reports, the observed water quality in Varanasi are as follows:

PRS Assessment Report Year Priority Class 2015 Priority–III 2018 Priority–IV 2022 Priority–V 2025 Priority–V 1(b) Funds have been disbursed to the following agencies in the state of Uttar Pradesh, for implementation of projects/interventions in Varanasi under the Namami Gange Programme since its inception (FY 2014-15) till 19 January 2026:

Implementing Agencies Purpose State Mission for Clean Ganga Setting up and maintenance of sewerage infrastructures Concessionaires of STP Project at Varanasi Setting up and maintenance of sewerage implemented in Hybrid Annuity Mode infrastructures Varanasi Nagar Nigam Cleaning of ghats & Cleaning of river surface through trash skimmer at Varanasi Indian Institute of Technology Varanasi Smart Laboratory on Clean Rivers National Mission for Clean Ganga Removal of pollutants from drains through installation of advanced oxidation process Further, the year-wise expenditure in Varanasi since 2014, for activities indicated above, as provided by the State Mission for Clean Ganga-Uttar Pradesh, is given below:

Year Year-wise expenditure (in Cr. ) 2014 0.00 2015 170.16 2016 82.98 2017 125.93 2018 139.59 2019 37.05 2020 70.79 2021 60.01 2022 62.64 2023 13.71 2024 17.36 2025 77.16 Total 857.38 ***** 2