Cleaning and Conservation of Rivers

Cleaning and rejuvenation of rivers is a continuous process. It is the responsibility of the States/Union Territories (UTs) and Local Bodies to ensure required treatment of sewage and industrial effluents to the prescribed norms before discharging into river and other water bodies, coastal waters or land to prevent and control of pollution therein. For conservation of rivers, this Ministry has been supplementing efforts of the States/UTs by providing financial and technical assistance for abatement of pollution in identified stretches of rivers in country through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for rivers excluding Ganga and its tributaries and Central Sector Scheme of Namami Gange for Ganga river and its tributaries. Details of the on-going projects under NRCP and Namami Gange programme are at Annexure. In addition, sewerage infrastructure is created under programs like Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs.

For the period of Financial Year (FY) 2021-22 to 2025–26, i.e., the 15th Financial Cycle period, the allocation of funds for the schemes of NRCD and NMCG is Rs 2652.00 crore and Rs 22,500 crore, respectively.

The Central Government, under the schemes for river conservation, does not insist on choice of any technology for wastewater treatment. For domestic sewage treatment, STPs are constructed while for industries, ETPs/CETPs are required. Nature Based Solutions, Constructed wetlands, Bio-remediation, etc are also used for treatment of effluents. Instead, it depends upon life cycle cost, Operation and Maintenance (O&M) cost, suitability for a given location, site specific conditions, etc. The focus/thrust of conservation schemes and the sewage treatment technology is to achieve the standards prescribed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Different innovations promoted by the Central Government include the Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM), One City-One Operator concept, etc. under the Namami Gange program. In addition, improved monitoring systems are enforced through the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) / State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs), the Online Monitoring Portal (PRAYAG- Platform for Real-time Analysis of Yamuna, Ganga, and their Tributaries), people’s participation, etc.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

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ANNEXURE

1. Ongoing project under National River Conservation Plan (Excluding river Ganga and its tributaries)

2. Ongoing project under Namami Gange Programme (River Ganga and its tributaries)

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AS