About 402.67 million litres per day (MLD) of industrial effluents by 3,186 grossly polluting industries (GPI) are discharged into rivers Ganga and Yamuna, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, minister of state for the Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC), told the Lok Sabha. About 249.31 MLD is discharged into the Ganga and 153.36 MLD into the Yamuna.
An assessment of GPIs in seven states found 1,229 such industries in Ganga and 1,957 in Yamuna. These GPIs located in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi and Haryana have the potential to discharge into the two rivers and their tributaries.
The pollution load of these effluents in terms of biochemical Oxygen Demand is 19.74 tonnes per day (TPD), with 13.73 TPD in Ganga and 6.01 TPD in Yamuna.
Further, about 3,558.5 MLD of sewage is generated from 105 Ganga front towns located in five states — Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Sewage treatment plans with a capacity of 2,561.7 MLD, or about 72 per cent of the generation, have been set up, the minister said.
Multidimensional poverty
India’s multidimensional poverty has declined sharply from 29.17 per cent in 2013-14 to 11.28 per cent in 2022-23, according to the NITI Aayog discussion paper, Rao Inderjit Singh, minister of state (independent charge) of the Union ministry of statistics and programme implementation, told the Rajya Sabha. This resulted in 248.2 million individuals escaping multidimensional poverty during the nine year period.
Amrit Sarovar Mission
Each Amrit Sarovar is required to have a pondage area of minimum of 1 acre (0.4 ha) with a water holding capacity of about 10,000 cubic meters, Bishweswar Tudu, minister of state for Union ministry of Jal Shakti, told the Rajya Sabha.
The target of 50,000 Amrit Sarovars was achieved on May 10, 2023. Further, till completion of the Mission in August 2023, more than 68,000 Amrit Sarovars have been constructed/ rejuvenated, the minister said.
Aging dams in the country
As per the National Register of Large (Specified) Dams, 2023 compiled by the National Dam Safety Authority, there are 234 large dams in India that are more than 100 years old, Tudu told the Rajya Sabha.
Presence of arsenic and fluoride in groundwater
As per the available information, arsenic has been reported in isolated parts of 230 districts in 25 states beyond the permissible limit and fluoride has been reported in isolated parts of 469 districts in 27 states, Tudu told the Rajya Sabha.
Encroachment on elephant corridors
The MoEFCC, in coordination with the state forest departments, has ground validated 150 elephant corridors across 15 elephant range states in India during 2021-23, Bhupender Yadav, Union minister for MoEFCC, told the Lok Sabha
The surveys were carried out in Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
The report Elephant Corridors of India was released on World Elephant Day, 2023 by the MoEFCC and circulated to states and Union territories for taking necessary steps to protect and conserve the elephant corridors.
Lion population
Only Gujarat has wild lions in the country, Choubey told the Lok Sabha. As reported by the state, there are 674 Asiatic lions in Gujarat as per the last population estimation done in June 2020.
Air quality grant to million-plus cities
Under the 15th Finance Commission air quality performance grant, Rs 16,539 crore have been allocated to 42 million-plus cities to implement city action plans to take measures to improve air quality, Choubey told the Lok Sabha. This included seven urban agglomerations in 2020-21 to 2025-26.
Resorts and hotels operational in elephant corridors
MoEFCC does not collate information on resorts, hotels and homestays that operate in elephant corridors, Choubey told the Lok Sabha. Wildlife management, including mitigation and management of human-elephant conflict, is primarily the responsibility of state governments and UT administration.
Reverse osmosis-based water purification
National Green Tribunal on May 20, 2019 ordered the MoEFCC to come out with regulation on appropriate use of reverse osmosis based water purification system, Choubey told the Lok Sabha.
Accordingly, MoEFCC has published the Water Purification System (Regulation of Use) Rules, 2023. The rules outline guidelines for the proper management, storage and utilisation of rejected water and discarded elements generated by these systems. These rules were published November 10, 2023 and shall come into force on November 10, 2024, the minister said.
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