Parliament Question: River rejuvenation and pollution abatement

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 249 ANSWERED ON 02.02.2026 RIVER REJUVENATION AND POLLUTION ABATEMENT 249. Dr. K. LAXMAN: Will the Minister of Jal Shakti be pleased to state: (a) current status and outcomes of the Namami Gange programme, specifically in terms of sewage treatment capacity created, river water quality improvement, and the replication of this model for other major rivers; (b) the specific actions taken or planned under the National River Conservation Plan for the abatement of pollution in the River Musi flowing through Hyderabad and other priority water bodies in Telangana; (c) whether Government has assessed the impact of treated wastewater reuse and its potential for reducing freshwater extraction in urban centres; and (d) the role of community participation and awareness campaigns in ensuring the success of river cleaning missions? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI (SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY) (a) & (b) Under the Namami Gange Programme, a total of 218 number of sewerage infrastructure projects costing ₹35,698 crores have been taken up for remediation of polluted river areas with Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) of 6,610 Million Liters per Day (MLD) capacity, out of which 138 projects with a capacity of 3,977 MLD have been completed and made operational. According to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) reports of 2018 and 2025 on Polluted River Stretches (PRS), there has been improvement in the water quality of the main stem of river Ganga. Comparison of water quality in Ganga Main Stem (2018 vs 2025) is annexed. Further, based on the water quality data (median values) of the river Ganga for the year 2025 (January to August), it is observed that pH & Dissolved Oxygen (DO) of River Ganga meet the required norms for bathing criteria at all the locations of River Ganga. However, Bio- chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the entire stretch of river Ganga in Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Bihar & West Bengal, except for locations/stretches namely, Farrukhabad to Purana Rajapur at Kanpur, Dalmau at Raibareilly and D/s Mirzapur to Tarighat at Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh. As per the biomonitoring conducted during 2024-25 at 50 locations along river Ganga and its tributaries and 26 locations along River Yamuna and its tributaries, the Biological Water Quality (BWQ) 1predominantly ranged from ‘Good’ to ‘Moderate’. The presence of diverse benthic macro-invertebrate species indicates the ecological potential of the rivers to sustain aquatic life. Cleaning of river is a continuous process and it is the primary responsibility of the State Governments/ Union Territories (UTs), local bodies and industries to ensure required treatment of sewage and industrial effluent before discharging into rivers and other water bodies for prevention and control of pollution therein. Government of India, through the Central Sector Scheme of Namami Gange Programme provides financial and technical assistance to the State Governments/ Union Territories (UTs) in addressing the challenges of pollution in Ganga and its tributaries and the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for Other River Basins in the country. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), 4 (four) Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) of total 593 Million Litres per Day (MLD) capacity have been set up in Hyderabad for pollution abatement of Musi River in Telangana. Further, another 5 (five) STPs of total 28.46 MLD capacity have been set up in Bhadrachalam, Mancherial and Ramagundam for pollution abatement of river Godavari in Telangana. Twelve different institutes/ organizations have been engaged for the project “Condition Assessment and Management Plan (CAMP)” under NRCP for six river basins namely, Godavari, Krishna, Narmada, Cauvery, Mahanadi and Periyar. (c) Realizing the importance of reuse of treated water, a National Framework for Safe Reuse of Treated Water has been developed. Also, all the states in Ganga basin and in other river basins in the country have been directed to align their policies related to safe reuse of treated water with the National Framework. NMCG has also developed city level action plans for safe reuse of treated water for translating the policy to the ground level workable plans. (d) Under both Namami Gange Programme and NRCP, comprehensive public awareness campaigns have been carried out to foster a sense of responsibility and engagement among the public in efforts to clean and conserve the Ganga and other rivers in the country through educational materials, community outreach, school programmes, mass media campaigns, cleaning drives and online engagement. Cleanliness drives and awareness campaigns are organised, with support from academic institutions, volunteer groups, partner organisations, and District Ganga Committees etc. to sensitise and educate the communities living near the Ghats and riverbanks about the sustainable efforts and ways by which people may contribute significantly to curb the water pollution and adopt environment friendly practices. Community engagement and awareness is also supported through social media as it plays a vital role to connect with the masses especially youth. Swachhta Pakhwada Ganga Utsav, Ganga Run, Ganga Rafting Expeditions, Treks, Ghat pe Haat with a social message and several other such activities are also organised. *** 2ANNEXURE ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 249 TO BE ANSWERED IN RAJYA SABHA ON 02.02.2026 REGARDING “RIVER REJUVENATION AND POLLUTION ABATEMENT”. Ganga Main Stem – State-wise Comparison (2018 vs 2025) State 2018 Polluted Priority 2025 Polluted Priority Trend/Observation Stretches (2018) Stretches (2025) Uttarakhand Haridwar → IV No PRS — Improved and PRS stretch Sultanpur removed Uttar Pradesh Kannauj → IV Bijnor → IV / V Partially improved Varanasi Tarighat Bihar Buxar to V Bhagalpur V Marginal pollution remains Bhagalpur D/S→ Khalgaon D/S Jharkhand No PRS — No PRS — — West Bengal Triveni → III Baharampore → V Improved Diamond Diamond Harbour Harbour Note: D/S (Downstream) ***** 3