Maharashtra Leads in Polluted River Stretches: CPCB Report Reveals

With as many as 54 polluted river stretches, Maharashtra has emerged as the state with the highest number of such stretches according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB’s) latest technical report published on September 23 and uploaded online on September 27. Six out of the 54 polluted river stretches located in the Pune, Solapur, and Mumbai districts fall under the most critical category.

Of the 54 polluted river stretches in Maharashtra, two fall under the priority 1 category; five under priority 2; nine under priority 3; 14 under priority 4; and 24 under priority 5. The Kalu in Thane and the Mithi in Mumbai are listed as priority 1 rivers; while the Bhima in Solapur along with the Mula, Mula-Mutha, and Pawana in Pune are listed as priority 2 rivers. The Bindusara in Beed, which recently witnessed severe floods, and the Godavari in Nanded are the only rivers from Marathwada classified as priority 3. By contrast, most rivers in Marathwada and Vidarbha are classified as priority 4 and 5, reflecting the widening spread of pollution across the state’s water bodies.

The report notes that 29 river stretches in Maharashtra have shown improvement in water quality, including the Mula between Bopodi and Aundhgaon; Mutha between Khadakwasla and Shivajinagar; and Indrayani between Moshigaon and Alandi. At the same time, seven stretches have shown further deterioration even as two new stretches have been identified as polluted—the Burai in Dhule district before its confluence with the Tapi near Mukudas village; and Mutha in Pune district near Khadakwasla dam.

Shailaja Deshpande, founder-member of the Living River Foundation and part of the Pune River Revival Citizens’ Group, said that pollution monitoring needs to go beyond traditional parameters such as Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD). “Pollution control boards must also assess other critical factors that directly impact human health and aquatic life, such as heavy metals, phosphates, microplastics, and other chemicals. Unfortunately, these do not find any mention in CPCB or MPCB reports,” she said.

She further noted that Pune has already witnessed an outbreak of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) and several fish kill incidents in the last two years. “These are clear signs of water quality plummeting to dangerous levels. It is high time pollution control boards look beyond the conventional indicators and re-prioritize river stretches accordingly,” Deshpande said.