Government has identified 150 polluted river stretches

NEW DELHI: The government today said that the Central Pollution Control Board has identified 150 polluted river stretches in the country with Maharasthra and Gujarat topping the list of having maximum of them.

"The CPCB has identified 150 polluted stretches along various rivers in the country based on Bio-chemical-Demand (BOD)," Environment minister Jayanthi Ntarajan told Rajya Sabha today.

While 28 such stretches have been identified in Maharashtra, 19 polluted stretches have been found in Gujarat. Uttar Pradesh too has 12 such polluted stretches.

Natarajan said that the ministry is supplementing the efforts of the state governments in abatement of pollution in identified stretches under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) and National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).

The minister said that NRCP including NGRBA presently covers 42 rivers in 195 towns spread over 20 states at a sanctioned cost of Rs 9336.87 crore.

She said that various pollution abatement schemes taken up under the plan include interception and diversion of raw sewage, setting up of sewage treatment plants, creation of low cost sanitation facilities, setting up of electric wood crematoria and river front development.

"Till date sewage treatment capacity of 4814.80 million litres per day has been created under the plan," Natarajan said.