All that was discussed in the House through the day
The number of cases registered for environment-related offences increased to 61,767 in 2020 from 34,676 in 2019, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest And Climate Change told the Lok Sabha December 6, 2021. He was citing the Crime in India report 2020.
'Prioritise light vehicles for energy transition'
All governments should support the transition of light vehicles to zero-emission vehicles, said Choubey in Lok Sabha. “Two-wheelers and three-wheelers constitute more than 70 per cent of global sales and more than 80 per cent in India.”
India supported a ‘non-binding’ Zero Emission Vehicles Transition Council (ZEVTC) declaration at the 26th Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The declaration calls for working intensely towards accelerated proliferation and adoption of zero emission vehicles.
All developed countries have been urged to strengthen international collaboration and support so that a global, equitable and just transition is realised, the minister added.
Low sewage treatment capacity in cities
The country’s installed urban sewage treatment capacity is 43.9 per cent of the amount of sewage generated daily (72,368 million litres per day, MLD), Bishweswar Tudu, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti (water resources) told the Rajya Sabha. He gathered data from the National Inventory of Sewage Treatment Plants carried out in March 2021.
The Central Ground Water Authority was constituted under Section 3 (3) of the “Environment (Protection) Act, 1986” for the purpose of regulation and control of groundwater development and management.
The latest guidelines for control and regulation of groundwater extraction were notified by the Ministry of Jal Shakti on 24 September 2020, Tudu added.
The Government of India is providing financial assistance to the identified water bodies under the Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana — Har Khet Ko Pani, the mininster added.
Polluted stretches on 34 rivers covered
As many as 351 polluted stretches were identified on 323 rivers based on monitoring results in terms of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), an indicator of organic pollution, Tudu told the Rajya Sabha. The data was published in a September 2018 report by CPCB.
Proposals for pollution abatement works in towns along polluted river stretches are received from states / Union territories (UT) from time to time for consideration under National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) and sanctioned based on their prioritisation, conformity with NRCP guidelines, availability of plan funds, among other factors, Tudu said.
NRCP has so far covered polluted stretches on 34 rivers in 77 towns spread over 16 states in the country with the sanctioned project cost of Rs 5,961.75 crore, and inter-alia, a sewage treatment capacity of 2,677 MLD has been created.
A total of 353 projects, including 157 for sewage treatment of 4,952 MLD and a sewer network of 5,212 kilometres, have been sanctioned at a cost of Rs 30,458 crore, Tudu added.
Scientific processing of municipal solid waste has increased to 70 per cent of the total waste generated from 18 per cent in 2014, Kaushal Kishore, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs told the Rajya Sabha. This was attributed to efforts of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), the minister added.
Under the programme, the Centre provides additional central assistance for creating infrastructure for management of solid waste addressing inter-alia, processing of municipal solid waste, management of construction and demolition waste and bio-remediation of all legacy dumpsites.
Till date, Rs 6,375.17 crore has been disbursed to states / UTs under the Solid Waste Management (SWM) component of the mission, according to Kishore. The funds were released for creation of infrastructure like waste-to-compost plants, material recovery facilities, waste-to-energy plants, sanitary landfills, among others, he added.
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 launched October 1, 2021 has a major focus on making the cities garbage-free during the mission period, the minister observed.
'Claims alarming depletion of groundwater unfounded'
There has been no official prediction that India’s groundwater level will halve by 2030, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister of Jal Shakti told Rajya Sabha in response to a question on this claim.
“The Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) is periodically monitoring groundwater levels throughout the country on a regional scale, through a network of monitoring wells,” he said.
Analysis of water-level data by CGWB to understand long-term fluctuations indicated that about 38 per cent of the wells monitored have registered a decline in the groundwater level and about 62 per cent of the wells have registered a rise in water levels, Shekhawat added.
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