Parliament Question: Conservation of Lakes and Wetlands

OIH GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3634 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.08.2026 Conservation of Lakes and Wetlands

3634. SHRI NARAYAN TATU RANE:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to

state:

(a) the number of rivers in the country categorized as polluted at present;

(b) the details of action taken to check industrial pollution during the last five years; and

(c) whether the Government has implemented any new scheme for the conservation of lakes and wetlands? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI KIRTI VARDHAN SINGH)

(a) to (c) State Pollution Control Boards/Pollution Control Committees monitor the water quality of aquatic resources in line with the criteria/ guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) namely, Guidelines on Water Quality Monitoring, 2017. The water quality data is utilized for identification of Polluted River Stretches (PRS) based on the level of organic load which is measured in terms of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels. The Polluted River Stretches being monitored by CPCB in the country have progressively reduced from 351 in 2018 to 296 in

2025.

Industrial pollution across the country is regulated by concerned State Pollution Control Boards

(SPCBs) or Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) through Consent mechanism (Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate) under the provisions of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. Additionally, specific categories of industries are regulated under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

Notification, 2006 through grant of Environmental Clearance (EC) and filing of half-yearly compliance reports by the industries for post project monitoring.

Further, in order to strengthen self-regulation, 17 categories of highly polluting industries are mandated to install Online Continuous Emission/Effluent Monitoring Systems (OCEMS), for real- time monitoring and alert system with connectivity to the server of SPCBs/PCCs and Central Pollution Control Boards (CPCB). Based on the alerts generated from OCEMS, CPCB also conducts surprise inspection of selected industries and appropriate action is initiated by CPCB under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 against the non-complaint industries.MoEF&CC is implementing a centrally sponsored scheme, namely, National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA) for conservation and management of wetlands including lakes in the country, on cost sharing basis between Central Government and respective State Governments. The scheme covers various activities such as interception, diversion and treatment of wastewater, shoreline protection, in-situ cleaning i.e., desilting and deweeding, biodiversity conservation, storm water management, bioremediation, catchment area treatment including tree plantation and aided natural regeneration, survey and demarcation, bio-fencing, sustainable livelihood development including fisheries, eco-tourism development, education and awareness creation, community participation, etc.

The NPCA scheme promotes eco-tourism in and around the wetlands. Further, in accordance with “Whole of the Government Approach”, various other Ministries/Departments of the Government have been playing important role in restoration and conservation of wetlands. Some such crucial Programmes/Schemes are Repair, Renovation & Restoration (RRR) of water bodies under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Mission Amrit Sarovar, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Atal Bhujal Yojana and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

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