New Delhi: Over Rs. 5,800 crore has been sanctioned for pollution abatement at 34 river stretches in 16 states across the country, excluding River Ganga, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has said. Out of the total of Rs. 5,870 crore sanctioned under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), the Centre has released its share of Rs. 2,522 crore to the states, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Babul Supriyo recently told the Lok Sabha.
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Minister of State Supriyo said while responding to a query regarding river pollution,
Project proposals are received from states from time to time for taking up pollution abatement works in town along various rivers and are considered for financial assistance under the National River Conservation Plan. NRCP has covered polluted stretches of 34 rivers in 77 towns spread over 16 states at a sanctioned cost of Rs. 5870.55 crore.
In the last one year, Rs. 143 crore has been released to nine states for pollution abatement in rivers under NRCP, the minister said. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with State Pollution Control Boards, monitors the water quality of rivers on a regular basis. As many as 351 stretches of polluted rivers have been identified by the apex pollution body.
On another question on lakes and wetlands conservation, the ministry said it has released Rs. 181 crores to 20 states for pollution abatement in lakes and wetlands in last three years, with Rs. 1.58 crore being released in the current financial year so far. The minister said,
The Environment Ministry is currently implementing a centrally sponsored scheme named National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA) under which 180 wetlands including lakes have been prioritised for conservation and management.
NDTV – Dettol Banega Swachh India campaign lends support to the Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). Helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan, the campaign aims to spread awareness about hygiene and sanitation, the importance of building toilets and making India open defecation free (ODF) by October 2019, a target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when he launched Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2014. Over the years, the campaign has widened its scope to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and menstrual hygiene. The campaign has also focused extensively on marine pollution, clean Ganga Project and rejuvenation of Yamuna, two of India’s major river bodies.
