Level of river toxicity on the rise: TN one of the worst hit

According to the state-wise data of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra were the worst-hit states due to this. In Tamil Nadu, 73 STPs treated 1,799.72 MLD of the 5,599 MLD of sewage generated in the State, the figures showed. An estimated 61,948 MLD of sewage was generated in the urban areas, of which only 23,277 MLD was treated through 816 sewage treatment plants (STPs) across the country, it said.

In a written response to a question in the Rajya Sabha, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) also admitted that the problem of groundwater contamination was alarming in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.

It said the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) had cautioned that the levels of fluoride, arsenic, nitrate and iron ore were beyond the acceptable limits in various states. The board, in a report, had also pointed out that one of the probable causes of high levels of nitrate in groundwater was excessive use of chemical fertilisers in agriculture, the ministry said.

It said the CGWB had mentioned that as against the existing requirement, only 37 per cent of sewage water was being treated in the country and as a result, the rivers were getting polluted. To tackle the problem, 2,522 million litres of water per day (MLD) of 34 rivers in the 16 most-affected states were being treated under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), the ministry said.

Across the country, 423 districts were facing the problem of excess nitrate in the groundwater, whereas 370 districts had excess fluoride and 341 had excess iron ore in the groundwater, the CGWB report said. The ministry said the board was keeping an eye on the situation through a network of 15,974 water-quality monitoring wells, adding that under the NRCP, the number of STPs was also being increased across the country.