Mah has highest 53 polluted river stretches in country: MoEF&CC
| Date :08-Aug-2022 |
Staff Reporter
Maharashtra, which is the second most populated state in India, has the highest 53 numbers of polluted river stretches in the country, revealed Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) in Rajya Sabha recently.
The Ministry, in the Upper House, mentioned about a report of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in which it monitors water quality of 719 rivers at 2,108 monitoring locations across 28 States and seven Union Territories (UTs) spread over the country under National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWMP).
According to the reply, Maharashtra, which has the highest 162 water quality monitoring locations, has the highest 53 polluted river stretches, which require proper treatment and rejuvenation.
These 53 polluted river stretches in the State, have exceeded the Bathing Water Quality Criteria parameter of
Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) (3.0 mg/l). All these stretches are divided in priority level (i.e. Priority I, II, III, IV and V). There are 14 river stretches each which come under Priority III and V. Whereas, 10 stretches come under Priority IV, 9 stretches in Priority I and 6 stretches in Priority II.
Accordingly, for rejuvenation of identified polluted rivers, action plans have been prepared by four-member Committee called ‘River Rejuvenation Committee’ (RRC) constituted by the respective State Government/UT Administration, under the overall supervision and co-ordination of Principal Secretary, Environment of the concerned State/Union Territory, said the Ministry.
Prepared action plans cover aspects such as source control (municipal sewage management, industrial pollution control, waste management), river catchment/basin management (adoption of good irrigation practices, utilisation of treated sewage, ground water recharge aspects), Flood Plain Zone protection and its management (setting up of bio-diversity parks, removal of encroachments, rain water harvesting, plantation on both sides of the river), Ecological/ Environmental Flow (E-Flow) and watershed management, it stated.
According to CPCB, Maharashtra also generates the highest 9,107 MLD sewage water from its cities in the country. The State has 6,890 MLD sewage water treatment capacity in which 6,366 MLD sewage water gets treated through water treatment plants, which is also highest in the country.
Based on water quality monitoring results, pollution assessment of rivers in Vidarbha region has been also carried out by CPCB from time to time. As per the results, Vidarbha has total 42 monitoring stations in which 10 each are in Nagpur and Chandrapur, 5 in Wardha, 4 each in Akola, Bhandara and Yavatmal, 3 in Amravati, 1 each in Gondia and Buldhana. As per CPCB, the stretches between Bhandara and Nagpur cities of Kanhan river and Kolar river along Koradi are the most polluted river stretches in Nagpur district. Both river stretches are included in Priority level III in the report. The Regional Offices of State Pollution Control Board/ Pollution Control Committees monitor the water quality of rivers and other aquatic resources. Upon completion of the monitoring and analysis, the water quality data is submitted to the respective SPCBs/PCCs.
Further, an on-line submission of data to CPCB is done through Environmental Water Quality Data Entry System (EWQDS) portal, said the Ministry in Rajya Sabha.