Question raised in Lok Sabha on Flood Management Projects, 09/03/2017. The Ministry provides technical guidance to State Governments through Central Water Commission (CWC) and Ganga Flood Control Commission (GFCC) in formulation of flood management projects. During XII Plan, a total of 632 projects for Rs.58594.59 crore were received for techno-economic appraisal out of which 305 projects at an estimated cost of Rs.13262.78 crore were cleared by the appraisal agencies.

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has been bringing out the publication “Women and Men in India” on a regular basis since 1995. The publication focuses on portraying gender inequality, gender bias and gender discrimination through crucial statistical indicators of socio-economic relevance. The Eighteenth Edition of the publication “Women and Men in India” provides sex-disaggregated data at State and Central level for various social indicators. The publication includes important indicators as derived from published official data of different Ministries/Department/Organisations.

Global funding for research and development on neglected diseases reached a historic low in 2015, driven by declining public sector investment. The G-FINDER report by Australia-based independent group, Policy Cures Research, says that the decline is due to the lack of funding by rich countries. According to it, this is the lowest-ever funding on record by the US. Same can be said of the UK. The G-FINDER analysis tracks public and private investment in diseases that affect people in the developing countries. Over 1 billion people in 149 countries worldwide suffer from one or more neglected diseases, and they are now included in the Sustainable Development Goals.

China installed a total of 23 gigawatts of wind energy in 2016, nearly half the total 54 gigawatts that was brought online around the world, and continues to expand its lead over its nearest competitors, the United States and Germany. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) published its annual statistics report for the global wind energy industry this week, revealing that a total of 54 gigawatts (GW) worth of wind energy was brought online in 2016, bringing the global cumulative total up to nearly 487 GW.

Europe installed 12.5 GW of gross additional wind capacity in 2016. This was 3% less than the new installations in 2015. With a total installed capacity of 153.7 GW, wind energy now overtakes coal as the second largest form of power generation capacity in Europe. 2016 annual figures: 12.5 GW of new wind power capacity was installed and grid-connected in the EU during 2016, a decrease of 3% compared to 2015 annual installations. 10,923 MW were installed onshore, and 1,567 MW were installed offshore; Wind power installed more than any other form of power generation in Europe in 2016.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Water Level in Major Reservoirs, 09/02/2017. Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors live storage status of 91 reservoirs of the country on weekly basis and issues weekly bulletin on every Thursday. Out of these reservoirs, 10 reservoirs are in Gujarat. Water availability of the 91 reservoirs monitored by CWC against their storage capacity at end of the monsoon season i.e. 30th September during last three years is given in Annexure-I.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on MGNREGS, 09/02/2017. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a demand driven programme. Hence no State/UT- wise allocation of fund is made. The Central funds are released to the States/UTs including Uttar Pradesh on the basis of agreed to Labour Budget and taking into consideration the performance and the pace of utilization of available funds.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Contamination of Ground Water, 09/02/2017. Ground water quality data generated by Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) during various scientific studies and ground water quality monitoring indicates that ground water in isolated pockets in parts of various States is contaminated with Fluoride, Nitrate, Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, Chromium etc. The State-wise details of districts affected in parts with ground water contamination are given at Annexure I.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Disposal of Waste, 08/02/2017. The details of the total no. of Mission cities in each State, funds allocated & released towards Solid Waste Management and sanitation component for various States during 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 under SBM are at Annexure-I. Similarly, under AMRUT, the Centre approves the State Annual Action Plan (SAAPs) submitted by the States. The Centre has approved the SAAP of 2015-16 & 2016-17 of all State/UTs and also approved the 3rd and final SAAP of some States.

Question raised in Lok Sabha on Air Quality, 07/02/2017. Central Pollution Control Board 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). Under NAMP, three air pollutants viz.,