Govt has identified over 3,200 polluting industries: Javadekar

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday informed Parliament that it had identified 3,266 highly polluting industries and 150 polluted stretches along various rivers across the country in the past couple of years and had taken measures to deal with it.

"The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has identified 3,266 highly polluting industries including power plants, of which 2,328 industries are complying with prescribed standards, 571 are non-complying and 367 have been closed," environment minister Prakash Javadekar said in response to a Parliament question in Lok Sabha.

Javadekar said the government has notified 102 industry-specific (effluent 45, emissions 57) environmental standards. All the industries are required to comply with these standards and take pollution control measures under Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 and Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.

During the last five years (2010 to June 2014), CPCB issued 601 directions under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 which included 497 directions for compliance of standards and 104 directions for closure of defaulting industries.

In response to another question relating to river pollution, the minister said, "CPCB has identified 150 polluting stretches along various rivers in the country based on bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) levels, a key indicator of organic pollution." The polluting river stretches are located in 27 states.

He also said the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) and National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) covered 42 rivers in 199 towns spread over 21 states at a sanctioned cost of Rs 10,716.45 crore. The government has released Rs 5,097.50 crore to state governments for implementation of various pollution abatement schemes till March, he added.