All that was discussed in the House through the day
The water resources department has been implementing erosion management schemes in Brahmaputra as per the recommendations of the Rashtriya Barh Ayog (National Flood Commission), Bishweswar Tudu, minister of state for Jal Shakti (water), told the Lok Sabha.
It was able to provide reasonable protection to more than 50 per cent of the flood-prone area through the construction of embankments. The department has also taken up non-structural measures to reduce the flood hazard in the downstream areas, Tudu added.
766 cases of encroachment on forest land by industries and individuals have been recorded in the state of Gujarat. 11 encroachments by industries/institutions had been regularised as per the legal provisions of the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, Choubey, told the Rajya Sabha.
The government of Gujarat had reported that no fine has been imposed by the NationalGreen Tribunal/Supreme Court/High Court in any of the above cases, Choubey added.
Crocodile attacks in Terai region of Uttar Pradesh
At Least three people died and 12 were injured in Uttar Pradesh, during 2021-22, due to human-crocodile conflict, Choubey told Rajya Sabha.
North Kheri Division, Lakhimpur Kheri, Pilibhit Tiger Reserve Division, Pilibhit, Katarniaghat Wildlife Division, Bahraich and National Chambal Sanctuary are he main areas where crocodiles have come into conflict with human beings, he added.
Various tribal groups, who had been displaced due to Polavaram irrigation project, have submitted, petitions before the government, Tudu told Lok Sabha.
257 grievance petitions were received from tribals in this regard, through www.randrpolavaram.com website. Out of these, 141 petitions are reported to have been redressed by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, he said.
The occurrence of Uranium in groundwater beyond permissible limits was observed in 409 groundwater samples, Tudu told Lok Sabha. The central ground water board carried out a study to map areas with Uranium contaminated ground water in 2019.
Severe water crises are not reported from any of the cities, mentioned in the NITI Aayog’s list, Tudu told Lok Sabha. NITI Aayog, in its 2018 report, mentioned that 21 major cities might run out of groundwater.
The predictions were based on the estimates of annual groundwater replenishment/extraction and did not consider the groundwater in deeper aquifers, he added.
Extinction of species
No species in India has been declared extinct in the recent past, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, minister of state for the Ministry of Environment, Forest And Climate Change (MoEFCC) told Rajya Sabha.
Pollution in North India
Metropolitan cities from the state of Punjab and West Bengal, have shown a decrease in Particulate Matter 10 (PM 10) concentration during 2020-2021 compared to 2019-2020 levels, Choubey told Rajya Sabha. Only 6 cities are reported to have shown an increase in PM 10 concentration, he added.
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