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.