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GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI
DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION
RAJYA SABHA
STARRED QUESTION NO. *253
ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026
RIVER REJUVENATIONS
253. SHRI RYAGA KRISHNAIAH:
Will the Minister of Jal Shakti be pleased to state:
(a) the current status of the contamination of water in the rivers in the country;
(b) whether Government has expanded the scope of river cleaning to include small rivers and tributaries;
(c) if so, the details thereof;
(d) the manner in which the Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) mapping (covering 44,000 sq, km) is
being utilized to identify illegal encroachments and discharge points in the river basins; and
(e) if so, the details thereof?
ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI
(SHRI C R PATIL)
(a) to (e) : A statement is laid on the Table of the House.
1STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.
*253 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 IN RAJYA SABHA REGARDING “RIVER
REJUVENATIONS”
(a) to (c) Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in association with Pollution Control Board/
Committees in different States/Union Territories (UTs), have been monitoring the water quality of rivers
and other water bodies through a network of monitoring stations under the National Water Quality
Monitoring Programme.
Accordingly, CPCB publishes reports on Polluted River Stretches (PRSs) on periodic basis. As per
the report published by CPCB in 2025 based on water quality data of 2022 & 2023, 296 polluted stretches
were identified on 271 rivers that includes main rivers and tributaries in the country. The state-wise number
of polluted river locations and polluted river stretches identified are at Annexure –I.
The number of PRSs has decreased from 351 in the year 2018 to 296 in the year 2025. Further, 149
PRSs have been delisted and improvement in water quality of 71 polluted river stretches have been
observed in 2025 as compared to the report published in 2018. The state-wise numbers of PRSs delisted
and improvement observed are at Annexure –II.
CPCB at present monitors water quality of aquatic resources at 4922 locations across the country
which includes 2260 locations on rivers, including main rivers and tributaries.
Cleaning/rejuvenation of rivers is a continuous process. ‘Water’ is a State subject. However, the
Ministry of Jal Shakti supplements the efforts of State Governments/UTs by providing financial and
technical assistance for pollution abatement of river Ganga and its tributaries through Namami Gange
Programme and for all other rivers through National River Conservation Plan (NRCP). In addition,
sewerage infrastructure is created under programmes like Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban
Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs. Viksit
Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) scheme indirectly contributes to the
cleaning of rivers through permissible activities like desilting, afforestation, construction of check-dams,
cleaning & restoration of water bodies etc.
(d) & (e) Under Namami Gange program, advanced survey technologies like LiDAR, UAV and Drone
based Surveys etc. have been used in certain areas of Ganga basin. A Drain Dashboard has also been
developed to provide authentic videographic visualization and mapping of outfalls on Ganga mainstem.
The dashboard provides geo-tagged information and enables state and district-level authorities to monitor
pollution sources, prioritize interventions and respond effectively.
***
2ANNEXURE-I
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (c) OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED
QUESTION NO. *253 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 REGARDING “RIVER
REJUVENATIONS”
State-wise number of polluted rivers locations and polluted river stretches identified
S.No. State Total
1 Andhra Pradesh 4
2 Arunachal Pradesh 4
3 Assam 6
4 Bihar 12
5 Chhattisgarh 6
6 Daman-Diu & Dadra Nagar Haveli 1
7 Delhi 1
8 Goa 2
9 Gujarat 10
10 Haryana 4
11 Himachal Pradesh 10
12 Jammu& Kashmir 7
13 Jharkhand 10
14 Karnataka 14
15 Kerala 32
16 Madhya Pradesh 18
17 Maharashtra 54
18 Manipur 18
19 Meghalaya 2
20 Mizoram 4
21 Nagaland 2
22 Odisha 6
23 Puducherry 2
24 Punjab 2
25 Rajasthan 8
26 Sikkim 3
27 Tamil Nadu 9
28 Telangana 5
29 Tripura 1
30 Uttar Pradesh 16
31 Uttarakhand 12
32 West Bengal 11
Total 296
3ANNEXURE-II
ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) to (c) OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED
QUESTION NO. *253 TO BE ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 REGARDING “RIVER REJUVENATIONS”
(a) State-wise number of PRS delisted
S.No. State/UT No. of PRS
1. Andhra Pradesh 03
2. Assam 41
3. Bihar 01
4. Goa 10
5. Gujarat 10
6. Himachal Pradesh 02
7. Jammu & Kashmir 03
8. Jharkhand 02
9. Karnataka 04
10. Kerala 09
11. Madhya Pradesh 11
12. Meghalaya 05
13. Mizoram 06
14. Nagaland 04
15. Odisha 14
16. Puducherry 01
17. Punjab 02
18. Sikkim 02
19. Telangana 04
20. Tripura 05
21. Uttarakhand 01
22. West Bengal 09
Total 149
(b) State-wise number of PRS where improvement in water quality observed
S.No. State/UT No. of PRS
1. Andhra Pradesh 02
2. Assam 01
3. Daman Diu & Dadra Nagar Haveli 01
4. Gujarat 02
5. Jammu & Kashmir 02
6. Jharkhand 01
7. Karnataka 05
8. Kerala 04
9. Madhya Pradesh 03
10. Maharashtra 29
11. Meghalaya 01
12. Mizoram 01
13. Nagaland 01
14. Odisha 03
15. Rajasthan 01
16. Tamil Nadu 02
17. Telangana 03
18. Uttar Pradesh 03
19. Uttarakhand 02
20. West Bengal 04
Total 71
*****
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