Over 60 pc river stretches polluted: Government

Govt says out of 445 river stretches, 275 are polluted

The environment ministry has informed that out of the 445 rivers monitored by the Centre, 275 are polluted stretches. With 49 polluted river stretches, Maharashtra has topped the list, followed by Assam and Madhya Pradesh. The ministry, however, has also stated that it is supplementing the efforts of the state governments in pollution abatement in identified river stretches under the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP). 

Treated sewage to fill up Bengaluru's dry lakes

The Karnataka government has launched a project worth Rs 883 crore that envisages filling up of 65 dry lakes in Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural and Chikkaballapur districts with treated sewage water from the city. This is a first-of-its-kind project in India and is expected to make available 2.7 tmcft of water. Under this project, nine lakes in the Devanahalli taluk of Bengaluru Rural district, 12 in Bengaluru Urban district and 44 in Chikkaballapur district will be covered.

Report claims ONGC's activities harmed soil, water in Tamil Nadu

According to a report by the Coastal Resource Centre (CRC), the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and the Chennai Petroleum Corporation Limited's (CPCL's) hydrocarbon operations have contaminated soil, groundwater and surface water in Thanjavur, Thiruvarur and Nagapattinam districts in Tamil Nadu. Moreover, the report claimed that the gas corporation has failed to observe international best practices in responding to the June 30 oil spill and has even ignored repeated requests from farmers in the region to clean up the contamination.

Maharashtra all set for $1 billion funding for drought proofing

In order to address the water crisis in the state, Maharashtra government is adopting a multi-stakeholder partnership approach to raise a fund of $1 billion for drought proofing. For this, the World Bank will provide a loan of $480 million, $270 million grant will be given by the Green Climate Fund, Maharashtra will fund $200 million, and $200 million will come from the farmers, corporate foundations and financial markets. The initiative is expected to benefit the Jalyukta Shivar Abhiyan the most. 

IMD predicts normal rain in the second half of the monsoon

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the second half of the monsoon season is expected to receive normal rainfall. However, the period from June 1 to August 7 has recorded an overall deficiency of minus three percent, following which several parts of the country have witnessed drought-like conditions, especially in the southern peninsula while the states such as Gujarat, Rajasthan and several parts of the northeast have witnessed floods. 

This is a roundup of important news from August 8 - 14, 2017. Also, read policy matters this week.