Organic pollution predominant cause of water pollution: Govt

Organic pollution is the predominant cause of water pollution across 2,500 locations which were monitored across the country, the government said.

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar in a written reply in Lok Sabha said that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in association with state boards and committees, is monitoring the quality of water bodies at 2,500 locations across the country under the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWQMP).

“The monitoring results indicate that organic pollution is the predominant cause of water pollution. Based on the magnitude of organic pollution, CPCB in 2008 identified 150 polluted river stretches which increased to 302 in 2015. “The river stretches are polluted mainly due to discharge of untreated or partially treated water and discharge of industrial waste water,” the Minister said.

He said that CPCB assessed the total volume of municipal wastewater generation in the country at about 61,948 MLD as against the installed sewage treatment capacity of 23,277 MLD, leaving a wide gap of more than 38,671 MLD.