All that was discussed in the House through the day
Around 60 per cent wells in urban India have registered a rise in groundwater levels in May 2023 compared to the 2013-2022 decadal average for the month, Tudu told the Lok Sabha. In comparison, water level fell in the range of 0-2 metres about 40 per cent wells, the minister said.
The water-level data of certain urban areas / cities collected by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) during May 2023 has been compared with the decadal (2013-2022) average for the month of May.
Musi river stretch identified as Priority I
The stretch of Musi river from Bapughat to Rudravelly and Kasaniguda to Valigonda in Telangana was identified as ‘Priority-I’ stretch by the Central Pollution Control Board in November 2022, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union minister for Jal Shakti (water resources) told the Lok Sabha July 20, 2023. This means the stretch is extremely polluted and needs urgent remediation.
In the 2018 CPCB report, the stretch of the river flowing from Hyderabad to Nalgonda was under the Priority I category, the minister noted.
CPCB, in association with state pollution control boards / committees in different states / Union territories (UT), monitors the water quality of rivers and other waterbodies from time to time, through a network of monitoring stations under the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme.
More waterbodies in urban India encroached upon
As much as 2.5 per cent of India’s urban waterbodies are encroached upon, compared to 2.5 per cent of rural ones, Bishweswar Tudu, Union minister of state for Jal Shakti told the Lok Sabha.
As per the first Census of Waterbodies, there are 2,424,540 water bodies in India, the minister added. Out of the encroached water bodies, 95.4 per cent fall under the rural area and 4.5 per cent under urban area.
Erosion around Ganga-Padma
Around 1,480 hectares of land along the Ganga-Padma in Murshidabad district of West Bengal have been eroded during the last 15 years, according to Government of West Bengal, said Tudu.
The erosion was observed in Farakka, Samsergunj, Suti-I & II, Raghunathgunj-II, Lalgola, Bhawangola-II, Raninagar-II, Jalangi blocks and Dhuliyan municipality of the district.
The state of air quality and monitoring in major cities
The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest And Climate Changehas identified 123 non-attainment cities, where PM10 concentrations have exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for five consecutive years, said Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Union minister of state for environment, forest and climate change told the Rajya Sabha.
To address air pollution, MoEF&CC has launched a National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), which is a time-bound national level strategy to address the air pollution in 131 cities (89 non-attainment cities; 34 non-attainment cities & million-plus cities, and 8 million-plus cities) of the country, he added.
Human casualities reported due to human-elephant conflicts
Karnataka recorded 29 human casualties due to wild elephant attacks in 2022-23, according to Choubey. Between 2019-20 and 2021-22, the number of people killed in elephant attacks was 83, he added.
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