New Delhi: Sirsa MP Kumari Selja flagged the issue of rising cancer cases in Haryana during the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, linking the spread of the disease to pollution in the Ghaggar river. Responding to a question by the Congress member in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav recently said that the ICMR has informed that a study published in the Indian Academy of Sciences on Human health risk assessment revealed that people dwelling near river drains are highly prone to cancer disease.
Hazard quotients were observed above the threshold limit that poses high non-carcinogenic risks, Jadhav said in a written reply.
The results of the current study revealed that lead, iron, and aluminium exceeded the permissible limit of the Central Pollution Control Board (India), he said.
The minister also said that the Haryana State Pollution Control Board has found the water of the Ghaggar River is not fit for drinking.
Jadhav was responding to a question posed by Selja who had asked about the number of cancer patients in Haryana, the details of special cancer wards set up in various districts for treating these patients, and the extent to which polluted water from the Ghaggar River is responsible for spreading cancer.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in coordination with State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) has established a Water Quality Monitoring Network the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme (NWMP), Jadhav stated.
River Ghaggar is monitored at 18 locations in Punjab and nine locations in Haryana by respective SPCB/CPCB.
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 it 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 the Ghaggar River not fit for drinking, the minister said.
Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the National River Conservation Plan, a sewage treatment capacity of 15 million litres per day (MLD) was created in different towns in Punjab for the conservation of the 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 of 291.7 MLD have been installed.
Haryana State Pollution Control Board has informed that sewage treatment capacity of 588 MLD has been created in the river catchment in the state under the Ghaggar Action Plan.
Selja also inquired about whether the government has any plans to clean this river and if the central government provides any special assistance to cancer patients from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families.
In response, Health and Family Welfare Minister Prataprao Jadhav stated that under the National Cancer Registry Program of the Indian Council of Medical Research, Haryana reported 1,486 cancer cases in 2019, 1,536 in 2020, 1,580 in 2021, 1,630 in 2022, and 1,678 in 2023.
On whether the central government provides any special assistance to cancer patients from BPL families in the country, Jadhav said that the treatment of cancer is either free or subsidised in government institutions.
Further, financial assistance is provided to poor patients for their cancer treatment under the Health Minister’s Cancer Patient Fund component of the Umbrella scheme of the Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN).
The Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) aims at providing health insurance coverage of Rs 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation.
Since the inception of the scheme, treatment for cancer diseases is included in the benefit package, Jadhav said.
All modes of treatment for cancer (Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology and Radiation Oncology) are covered under the scheme, he stated.
In a press statement issued separately, Selja said, “The river’s water has become so polluted that it is neither fit for drinking nor bathing. Polluted water is contributing to cancer, with the number of cancer patients increasing every year ”
“However, there are no adequate treatment facilities for these patients, forcing them to travel to Delhi, Chandigarh, or other states for treatment,” said the statement.
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