NGT had directed States to ensure all cleaning infrastructures are commissioned by March 2021
Less than 5% of polluted river stretches identified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) across the country in 2018 are likely to be remedied by the year end. This in spite of an order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that directed all cleaning measures be commissioned by March 2021.
These estimates were per part of a quarterly report submitted by the National Mission for Clean Ganga that has been tasked with overseeing the implementation of the clean-up and filing quarterly reports on progress made by States.
In 2018, the CPCB had identified 351 stretches of rivers across the country where the Biological Oxygen Demand, Dissolved Oxygen levels, faecal coliform — biochemical parameters that are proxies to gauge the health of rivers — breached recommended standards. In…