No carbon credits have been generated so far under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) notified by the Union Ministry of Power in 2023, Shripad Naik, minister of state in the ministry, told the Lok Sabha on December 12.
The ministry has formulated a detailed procedure for the compliance mechanisms by obligated entities to adhere to the prescribed greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction norms in each compliance cycle of CCTS.
The scheme also prescribes an offset mechanism wherein the non-obligated entities can register their projects for GHG emission reduction or removal or avoidance for issuance of Carbon Credits Certificates, Naik added.
Public Sector oil marketing companies have achieved 10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol in June 2022, five months ahead of the target during Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2021-22, as per the Roadmap for Ethanol Blending in India 2020-25.
Blending of ethanol further increased to 12.06 per cent in ESY 2022-23 and approximately 14.6 per cent during ESY 2023-24 as per the Roadmap prepared by an Inter-Ministerial Committee.
A successful E-20 programme can save India about $4 billion per annum, Suresh Gopi, minister of state in the Union Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, told the Lok Sabha.
A total of 25, 202 charging stations have so far been developed in India as per information received from the power ministry. Also, 50 EV charging stations have been operationalised as a part of Way Side Amenity (WSA) facilities being developed along national highways/expressways, Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Union minister of road transport and highways, told the Lok Sabha.
The Government of Rajasthan has informed that the state faces significant challenges in groundwater availability, with districts like Jhunjhunu, Churu and Sikar lacking potable groundwater resources for their rural population.
Rajasthan has developed a long-term sustainability roadmap to address this issue. It focusses on connecting 90 per cent of the population to surface water through mega water supply projects utilising dams and surface water sources.
This strategic shift aims to ensure reliable and sustainable water access for the rural population in the state, V Somanna, minister of state for Jal Shakti (water resources) told the Lok Sabha.
Around 121.2 million additional rural households have been provided with tap water connections under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)-Har Ghar Jal scheme, as reported by states/ Union territories on December 10.
Thus, around 153.5 million (79.30 per cent) of the 193.5 million rural households in India are reported to have tap water supply in their home, as on December 10, Somanna told the Lok Sabha.
Sewage treatment plants (STP) of capacity 100 million litres per day (MLD) have been setup at Nashik under National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for the conservation of the GodavarI river.
A sewage treatment capacity of 18 MLD at Gangapur and 32 MLD at Pimpalgaon Khamb has been created under AMRUT 1.0, Raj Bhushan Choudhary, minister of state for Jal Shakti told the Lok Sabha.
Currently, 1.9 MLD STPs have been constructed to prevent pollution in the river, as per the Trimbak Municipal Council.
Work for constructing STPs of 4.5 MLD treatment capacity has been sanctioned at a cost of Rs. 34 crore by the state government under the Maharashtra Rajya Suvarna Jayanti Nagarotthan Yojana Scheme.
This has been done considering the increase in the floating population and the upcoming Kumbh Mela.
The Luni river in Rajasthan was polluted in terms of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) as per the report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) published in 2022.
Complaints were received regarding pollution in the Luni due to the discharge of contaminated water from factories in Pali, Jodhpur, and Balotra. The said complaints were forwarded by CPCB to the Rajasthan Pollution Control Board (RSPCB) for taking appropriate action.
According to RSPCB, there are 1,831 textile units in Pali, Jodhpur and Balotra. Of these, 1,674 are connected to Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs), and 157 units have their own Effluent Treatment Plants.
For treatment of industrial effluent, there are nine CETPs with a total capacity of 110 MLD: four in Pali, two in Jodhpur, and three in Balotra. The number of complying and non-complying CETPs are five and four, respectively, Choudhary told the Lok Sabha.
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has provided financial assistance of Rs 19.61 lakh, as per the Annual Plan of Operation submitted by the State of Himachal Pradesh, during the financial year 2023-24, under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme - Project Tiger & Elephant (CSS-PT&E) mainly for addressing human-elephant conflict issues in the Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. The proposal, inter alia, includes a component for bee keeping training and apiculture in fringe areas with habitation, Kirti Vardhan Singh, minister of state in the MoEF&CC told the Rajya Sabha.
There are no major air polluting industries in Loni, Ghaziabad as per the information received from Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board.
However, illegal burning of e-waste is reported at places in Loni residential area which is close to the Delhi border, Singh told the Rajya Sabha.