National river conservation plan and water pollutants in India

Abstract

This paper examines pollution sources in major Indian rivers and assesses the effectiveness of the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) in reducing water pollution. Using an extended Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework that includes socio-economic characteristics, institutional factors and accounts for cross-sectional dependence, we find that rising income effectively reduces chemical pollutants but worsens pollution from untreated sewage and biodegradable waste in developing economies. Our analysis shows that the NRCP significantly reduced water pollution, particularly chemical effluents. Furthermore, increased newspaper circulation correlates with lower pollution levels, emphasizing the role of public awareness in enhancing water quality.