Parliament Question: Pollution Mitigation and River Conservation Measures

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4863 TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.03.2026 Pollution Mitigation and River Conservation Measures 4863. SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH: Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state: (a) the present status of polluted river stretches identified by the Central Pollution Control Board and the progress made in restoration of such stretches in coordination with States; (b) the pollution mitigation measures undertaken to control discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluents, including strengthening of compliance monitoring and enforcement mechanisms; (c) whether convergence mechanisms have been established with the Ministry of Jal Shakti and other concerned Ministries for river rejuvenation, biodiversity conservation, wetland protection and ecological restoration of river basins; (d) the steps taken to regulate, relocate or ensure compliance of polluting industries situated along riverbanks and to strengthen real-time water quality monitoring; and (e) the initiatives undertaken to involve local communities, urban local bodies and panchayats in river conservation through awareness programmes, biodiversity protection efforts and citizen participation mechanisms? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH) (a) to (e) Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) at present monitors water quality of aquatic resources in the country in association with the State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) at 4922 locations including 2265 locations on rivers under National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWMP). The water quality data under NWMP is utilised for identification of Polluted River Stretches (PRS), the location / stretches of rivers that are not meeting the Primary Water Quality criterion for outdoor bathing for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) parameter (indicator of organic pollution) are identified as polluted location/ stretches. The PRS are classified under Priority Classes as Priority Class I to Priority Class V, Priority I being most polluted with BOD value of more than 30 mg/l and Priority V being least polluted with BOD ranging between 3 – 6 mg/l. As per the recent PRS assessment done by CPCB in 2025, based on 2022 & 2023 data, 296 polluted river stretches have been identified on 271 rivers. Comprehensive action plans were prepared for rejuvenation of identified PRS by River Rejuvenation Committees (RRCs) 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 PRS fit for bathing purposes. The progress of the implementation of action plans is reviewed by the RRCs at State Level and by Central Monitoring Committee (CMC) constituted at Ministry of Jal Shakti at Central Level. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has developed convergence mechanism with other ministries such as Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, the Ministry of Agriculture, etc. for river rejuvenation, biodiversity conservation, wetland protection and ecological restoration of river basins. The Namami Gange programme, under the Ministry of Jal Shakti is a flagship scheme that integrated conservation mission for river rejuvenation. ‘Jan Ganga’ is an important pillar of the Namami Gange programme, which focuses on public awareness and building community ownership to transform river conservation into mass movement. NMCG conducts diverse activities to foster and strengthen people-river connect. Various awareness campaigns are regularly organized towards sensitizing the youth and local communities towards preventing plastic use, water conservation and the environment. 139 District Ganga Committees have been constituted across the 5 Ganga basin States to oversee the pollution abatement and ensure people’s participation at the district level. Further, As per Section 41 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) are constituted at every local body level. The functions of BMCs include conservation, sustainable use and documentation of biological diversity, including conservation of habitats, landraces, folk varieties, cultivars, domesticated breeds of animals, and microorganisms, and chronicling of traditional knowledge associated thereto relating to biological diversity. Measures undertaken to control discharge of untreated sewage, industrial effluents, to regulate and monitor to ensure compliance of polluting industries are detailed at Annexure I.Annexure – I To control the discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluents into the rivers, the following pollution mitigation measures including strengthening of compliance monitoring and enforcement mechanisms have been undertaken: 1. The Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Government of India notifies “Standards for Emission or Discharge of Environmental Pollutants from various Industries” under Schedule-I of the Environment Protection Rules, 1986. So far, 79 industrial specific environmental standards have been notified. The industrial sectors, for which specific standards are not available, general standards as notified under Schedule-VI of the Environment Protection Rules, 1986 are applicable. 2. All the Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) are required to be provided adequate pollution control system for effluent as well emission. It is obligatory on the part of industries to install effluent treatment plants (ETPs) to comply with the notified effluent discharge standards. 3. CPCB organizes annual inspection of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) including Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) operating in river Ganga and Yamuna main stem States having potential to discharge into river Ganga & its tributaries by joint teams of officials from third party technical institutes and State Pollution Control Boards/ Committee (SPCBs/PCC) since 2017. 4. The SPCBs/PCCs ensure compliance by granting prior consent (Consent to Establish (CTE)/Consent to Operate (CTO) as per the provisions of the Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act. 1981. 5. The Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS) are installed by 17 categories of industries and Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) in the country as per directives issued by CPCB. This initiative provides real-time information on effluent quality, enabling the identification of non-complying units and the implementation of corrective actions. 6. CPCB developed Charter in consultation with the major industrial sectors like pulp & paper, sugar, distillery, textile and tannery resulting in reduction in fresh water consumption, waste water discharge & pollution load and improvement in compliance. 7. CPCB periodically review water quality data of aquatic resources monitored under NWMP and share with concerned SPCBs/ PCCs. 8. CPCB directed all SPCBs/PCCs under Section 18(1)(b) of The Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 to direct concerned agencies in the State/UT to develop infrastructure for sewage treatment. 9. Monitoring of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in river Ganga-front towns in the Ganga main stem states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal is carried out on a tri-annual basis. In the consent to operate issued by SPCBs, all STPs are required to be complying with norms stipulated as per the CTO. 10. National framework on safe reuse of treated water has been issued by the Ministry of Jal Shakti in November 2022. ****