12-08-2025
Ghaggar River water not fit for drinking, bathing, ministry informs MP Kumari Selja in Lok Sabha
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has found that the water flowing in the Ghaggar River in Punjab and Haryana is unfit for both bathing and drinking, Union Minister Prataprao Jadhav said last week in the Lok Sabha in response to a question by Sirsa MP and Congress leader Kumari Selja.
In his reply on August 8, Prataprao Jadhav, Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, stated that the Ghaggar River is monitored at 18 locations in Punjab and nine locations in Haryana by the state or central pollution control board. 'CPCB has informed that the analysis of water quality monitoring results of river Ghaggar in the state of Punjab and Haryana for the year 2023 reveals that River Ghaggar is found non-complying w.r.t. notified Primary Water Quality Criteria for Outdoor Bathing at all the monitored locations in the state of Punjab and Haryana for the year 2023. The Haryana State Pollution Control Board has found the water of Ghaggar River not fit for drinking,' Jadhav stated.
On the steps taken by the governments in this regard, the minister stated, 'Under the centrally sponsored scheme of National River Conservation Plan, sewage treatment capacity of 15 million litres per day (MLD) was created in different towns in Punjab for conservation of Ghaggar River.'
'Punjab Pollution Control Board has informed that to treat wastewater from the towns in the catchment of river Ghaggar, 28 STPs of total capacity 291.7 MLD have been installed. Haryana State Pollution Control Board has informed that sewage treatment capacity of 588 MLD has been created in river catchment in the State under the Ghaggar Action Plan,' he added.
Quoting a 2024 Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) study, the minister's reply stated that the people dwelling near river drains were highly prone to cancer and 'hazard quotients were observed above the threshold limit that poses high non-carcinogenic risks'. He added that the results of the study had revealed that lead, iron, and aluminium exceeded the permissible limit of the CPCB.
Giving details about the number of cancer cases, the minister stated figures from 2019 to 2023. 'As per the Indian Council of Medical Research's National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR-NCRP), the estimated number of incidences of cancer cases in Haryana during the last five years (2019-2023) is 1,468 in 2019, 1,536 in 2020, 1,580 in 2021, 1,630 in 2022, and 1,678 in 2023,' Jadhav stated.
Saying that cancer care facilities are available at government medical colleges in Hisar, Karnal, Nuh, Sonipat and Rohtak districts, the minister stated that further comprehensive cancer care services are provided at the National Cancer Institute in Bhadsa district.
'Under the strengthening of Tertiary Cancer Care Centres facilities, Atal Cancer Care Centre (ACCC) has been established at Sub Divisional Civil Hospital (SDCH), Ambala Cantonment. It is equipped with latest equipment for cancer treatment, and comprehensive cancer care services are provided to needy patients not only from Haryana but also neighbouring states,' Jadhav stated.
He further said that the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) is being implemented in all 22 districts of Haryana. 'Under NP-NCD, 22 district NCD clinics, 157 community health centre NCD clinics, and 5 District Cancer Care Centres are functional at Panchkula, Ambala, Faridabad, Kurukshetra and Yamunanagar. Further, 5 Day Care Cancer Centres have been approved for the State of Haryana,' he added.
Jadhav further said that cancer treatment is either free or subsidised in government institutions, adding that financial assistance is also provided to poor patients under the health minister's Cancer Patient Fund component of the umbrella scheme of the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi.
'Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) aims at providing health insurance cover of Rs. 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization. Since the inception of the scheme, treatment for cancer diseases is included in the benefit packages. All modes of treatment for cancer (Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology and Radiation Oncology) are covered under the scheme,' the minister added.
