Question raised in Rajya Sabha on Industrial garbage in major rivers, 06/02/2017. As per the existing environmental regulations, disposal of industrial garbage is permitted only at authorized sites. Rivers in the country are mainly polluted due to discharge of untreated and partially treated sewage from cities/towns and industrial effluent. Non-point sources of pollution like agricultural runoff, open defecation, runoff from solid waste dump sites etc., also contribute to this pollution.

Question raised in Rajya Sabha on Arsenic contamination in drinking water, 06/02/2017. As regards rural areas of the country, as reported by the States into the Integrated Management Information System (IMIS) of the Ministry as on 02 Feb, 2017, the areas of 66 districts of 8 states are in the grip of Arsenic Contamination. Details are attached as Annexure-1.

Question raised in Rajya Sabha on Air pollution in metro cities, 06/02/2017. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) monitors the ambient air quality at 680 monitoring stations located in 300 cities/towns covering 29 states and 6 union territories across the country under National Air Quality Monitoring Programme (NAMP). The ambient air quality data for metro cities during 2014-2016 is given at Annexure.

Question raised in Rajya Sabha on New Technologies for Solid Waste Management, 02/02/2017. As per the assessment made by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for 2015, the sewage generation in the urban areas of the country is estimated to be about 61,948 MLD (approx.) and sewage treatment capacity is for 23,277 MLD, which is about 37.6% of the total sewage generation. Further, as per the data available till Dec. 2016, the total amount of Solid waste generated in the urban areas of the country is about 1,57,478 MT/D, of which only 21.51% is being treated.

Question raised in Rajya Sabha on Funds for afforestation, 12/12/2016. The Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change has two Centrally Sponsored afforestation Schemes (CSS) for environment protection, namely National Afforestation Programme (NAP) Scheme and the Green India Mission (GIM) for afforestation and eco-restoration of degraded forests and adjoining landscapes with participatory approach. The State-wise details of funds released during the financial years 2013-14 to 2016-17-till date under NAP and GIM are given in Annexure-I.