Ecology & Waste in West Bengal

River water quality at every CPCB station in West Bengal, district forest cover change, Sundarbans mangroves, and municipal solid and plastic waste.

CPCB reported 56 river monitoring stations in West Bengal for 2022; 23 of them exceeded the BOD criterion at least once. Forest covers 18.96% of the state against 21.76% for India, and the Sundarbans give West Bengal 42.45% of India's mangrove cover. Of 13,469 tonnes of urban solid waste a day, 22.7% was treated in 2022-23, against 61% for India.

Data: latest 2023· 5 sources· CPCB · FSI ISFR 2023Methodology →

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Key figures & data tables

CPCB reported 56 river monitoring stations in West Bengal on 24 rivers for 2022. Against the Primary Water Quality Criteria printed in CPCB’s table (dissolved oxygen above 5 mg/L, BOD below 3 mg/L, faecal coliform below 2,500 MPN/100 mL), 23 stations exceeded the BOD limit at least once, 55 exceeded the faecal coliform limit and 9 fell below the dissolved oxygen limit. The highest BOD was 44 mg/L at Mahananda D/S, Ramghat, Darjeeling; the lowest dissolved oxygen was 0.4 mg/L at D/S of Bidyadhari at Malancha Burning Ghat.

Forest cover is 16,832.33 km², or 18.96% of the state, against 21.76% for India (FSI ISFR 2023). The state total changed by +50.22 km² against the ISFR 2021 (raster-based, revised) baseline. The most forested districts are Kalimpong (85.26%), Darjeeling (68.28%), Alipurduar (55.31%). The largest losses were in South 24 Parganas (-28.21 km²), Purba Medinipur (-16.3 km²), Howrah (-14.36 km²), and the largest gains in Bankura (+41.18 km²), Paschim Medinipur (+29.61 km²), Malda (+20.87 km²).

West Bengal has 2,119.16 km² of mangrove, 42.45% of India’s 4,991.68 km²; 2,088.88 km² of it is in South 24 Parganas. The total changed by +1.41 km² between ISFR 2021 and 2023: very dense mangrove by -2.02 km², moderately dense by +0.3 km² and open mangrove by +3.13 km².

West Bengal’s 128 urban local bodies generated 13,469 tonnes of municipal solid waste a day in 2022-23, #4 of 36 states and UTs. 99.9% was collected, 22.7% treated (3,053 TPD) and 1,187 TPD sent to sanitary landfill, leaving a gap of 9,229 TPD (68.5%). India treated 61% with a gap of 16.7%. The state has 123 dumpsites; biomining has begun at 84 and 26 have been cleared. Estimated plastic waste generation was 1,28,837 tonnes in 2021-22.

The rows behind the charts above — 8 tables

›River water quality at West Bengal monitoring stations, 2022 (CPCB)(56 rows)

CPCB, Water Quality Data of Rivers Monitored under NWMP, 2022. Each value is the minimum or maximum of the samples CPCB took at the station in calendar 2022. A station breaches a criterion if its worst reading does: maximum BOD above 3 mg/L, maximum faecal coliform above 2,500 MPN/100 mL, or minimum dissolved oxygen below 5 mg/L.

River water quality at West Bengal monitoring stations, 2022 (CPCB)
River	Station (CPCB location)	Code	DO min	DO max	BOD min	BOD max	FC min	FC max	pH min	pH max
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Baharampore, Murshidabad	1080	5.7	8.9	1.1	3.1	17,000	2,40,000	7.82	8.24
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Behrampore(Khagra), Murshidabad	10159	6	9	1.1	2.9	490	24,000	7.78	8.36
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Behrampore, (Gora Bazar),Murshidabad	10160	6	8.8	1.1	3	3,300	49,000	7.69	8.2
Ganga/Hooghly	Tribeni on Ganga, near Burning Ghat, Hooghly	2506	5.1	9.1	1.4	3.2	1,100	23,000	7.6	8.51
Ganga/Hooghly	Nabadip on Ganga, Ghoshpara near Monipurghat,Nadia	2511	5.5	9	1.4	3.1	790	1,30,000	7.78	8.38
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Palta, Shitaltala	10161	4.8	8.7	1.2	4.8	7,900	3,50,000	7.62	8.36
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Palta	1054	5.1	8.6	1.2	3	6,800	79,000	7.79	8.4
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Serampore, Hooghly	1472	5	8.7	1.2	3	4,600	49,000	7.2	8.41
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Dakshmineshwar, Kolkata	1053	5	7.8	2	4.1	33,000	1,70,000	6.81	7.96
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Howrah-Shivpur	1471	5.2	7.7	2.1	4	23,000	79,000	7.02	7.96
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Garden Reach, Kolkata	1470	5	7.7	2	4.3	23,000	1,30,000	7.03	7.88
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Uluberia , Howrah	1052	5	7.3	2	4.9	13,000	33,000	6.95	7.91
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Patikali near Durga Chak	1335	5.2	7.6	1.1	2.9	7,900	22,000	7.21	8.67
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Diamond Harbour, 24 Parganas (S)	1469	5.3	7	2	3.7	2,300	11,000	6.93	7.98
Ganga/Hooghly	Ganga at Farakka, Mushidabad	5162	5.3	9.4	1.1	2.9	78	4,900	7.82	8.3
Damodar	Damodar at Dishergarh Vill.(Nr.Bihar-West	1331	7.7	8.9	1.7	2.9	1,100	4,000	7.11	8.11
Damodar	Damodar at D/S of Iisco after 3Rd Outfall at Dhenna Village, Burdwan	1332	7.6	8.8	1.9	2.8	1,700	3,900	7.08	8.2
Damodar	Damodar at Narainpur after Confl. of Nunia Nallah, Burdwan	1333	7.5	8.8	2	3	1,700	3,900	7.25	8.17
Damodar	Damodar near Mujher Mana Village after Conf. of Tamla Nallah, Burdwan	1334	6.8	8.1	2.4	4.3	1,100	4,700	6.76	8.07
Damodar	Damodar at Andal U/S, Burdwan	10107	7.2	8.7	2	3.1	1,700	4,000	6.9	8.02
Damodar	Damodar at Andal D/S, Burdwan	10108	7.5	8.5	1.8	2.8	1,700	4,600	7.1	8.1
Damodar	Damodar at Asansol U/S, Burdwan	10109	7.6	8.9	1.4	2	1,700	3,900	7.45	8.85
Damodar	Damodar at Durgapur U/S, Burdwan	10110	7.4	8.6	1.8	3.3	1,400	4,700	6.84	8.21
Damodar	Damodar at Raniganj D/S, Burdwan	10111	7.3	8.8	2	3	1,400	7,000	7.19	8.41
Damodar	Water Intake Point for Burdwan Town, Burdwan	2527	7.4	8.9	2.2	3	1,700	3,300	7.32	7.95
Mathabhanga	Matha Bhanga, Gobindapur, Nadia	2517	0.6	4.4	2.6	7.6	13,000	3,50,000	7.58	8.19
Mayurakshi	Mayurakshi Water Intake Point for Suri Town On, Birbhum	2534	7.7	8.9	1.4	1.8	1,300	3,900	7.33	7.99
Churni	Churni D/S of Ranaghat Town	1764	1.5	4.7	1.2	6	13,000	2,40,000	7.52	8.07
Churni	Churni, Majhadia, Nadia	2518	1.1	5.6	1.4	7.2	3,300	79,000	7.63	8.1
Mathabhanga	Mathabhanga at Govindpur	30064	1.2	7	1.6	3	190	7,900	7.2	7.8
Dwarakeswar	Dwarakeshwar Water Intake Point for Bankura Town on Dwarakeshwar, Bankura	2541	7.5	8.8	2	3.8	1,400	4,600	7.33	8.1
Jalangi	Jalangi, D/S of Krishna Nagar, Nadia	2514	1	9	1.4	4.4	780	24,000	7.6	8.22
Rupnarayan	Rupnarayan before Confl. to Ganga near Geonkhali,Medinipore	1337	5.3	7.9	1.1	2	2,700	6,300	7.13	8.5
Rupnarayan	D/S of Rupnarayan at Kolaghat, near Kolaghat Rail Bridge No.3,Medinipore	2509	5.2	10	1.4	3	1,100	6,300	7.25	8.7
Dwarka	U/S of Tarapith on Dwarka at Sadhak Bamdeb Ghat, Birbhum	2531	6.9	8.7	1.3	3.4	2,100	4,700	7.32	8.05
Dwarka	D/S of Tarapith on Dwarka, Satighat	2532	6.6	8.7	1.8	3.8	2,200	7,000	7.22	8.01
Damodar	Damodar at Dishergarh	30065	7.2	9	1.1	2.3	780	35,000	7.1	8.1
Bidyadhari	U/S of Bindyadhari at Haroa Bridge, 24 Parganas(N)	2549	0.6	2.1	5.7	13.9	23,000	58,000	7.12	7.67
Bidyadhari	D/S of Bidyadhari at Malancha Burning Ghat	2550	0.4	1.5	6.2	17.1	7,800	46,000	7.29	7.59
Kansai	D/S of Kansi at Midnapore, near New Hanuman Mandir, Gandhighat, Medinipore(W)	2507	5.7	9.7	1.1	2.9	2,100	4,600	6.8	8.5
Mahananda	Mahananda at Siliguri, Darjeeling	1946	6.1	8	1.1	2.8	1,300	1,10,000	6.71	7.27
Barakar	Barakar at Asansol (Water Intake Point), Burdwan	1336	7.7	8.9	1.9	3	1,700	4,000	7.33	8.3
Silabati	D/S of Silabati at Ghatal, Medinipore(W)	2508	5.4	9.3	1.2	3.7	3,300	5,800	6.99	8.31
Mahananda	Mahananda D/S, Ramghat, Darjeeling	2525	2.1	6.3	3.9	44	50,000	50,00,000	6.51	7.47
Haldi	Haldi at Norghat	4710	5.7	7.8	1.1	2.9	2,100	11,000	7.16	8.86
Rasulpur	Rasulpur at Rasulpur Ghat	4711	5.1	7.7	1.1	2.8	3,300	9,400	7.38	8.44
Kaljani	Kaljani D/S of Alipurdwar, Municipality Discharge Point, Coochbehar	2524	6.1	8.9	1.2	2.3	600	28,000	6.84	7.47
Torsa	Torsa D/S of Ghughumari	4719	6	8.5	1.1	2.2	2,100	17,000	6.8	7.72
Torsa	Torsa at Hasimara	4724	7.1	8.7	1.1	2.1	20	13,000	7.01	7.76
Teesta	Teesta at Sevoke, Siliguri, Darjeeling	1947	7.1	8.7	1.1	1.8	1,700	6,000	6.89	7.6
Karola	Karola, D/S of Jalpaiguri, near Min Bhawan, Jalpaiguri	2523	6	8.4	1.2	2.3	400	30,000	6.5	7.81
Teesta	Teesta at Jalpesh	4723	6.8	8.8	1.2	2.1	200	9,000	6.62	7.74
Jaldhaka	Jaldhaka at Dhupguri	4717	6.2	8.5	1.1	2	600	9,000	6.5	7.7
Siltorsa	Siltorsa at Hasimara	4718	6.1	8.8	1.1	2	1,100	5,000	6.24	7.94
Raidak	Raidak at Alipurduar	4728	6.7	8.8	1.1	2.9	2,200	17,000	6.55	7.63
Subarnarekha	Subarnarekha at Gopiballavpur	30068	7.5	9.6	BDL	BDL	130	780	7.9	7.9

›Forest cover by West Bengal district (FSI ISFR 2023)(23 rows)

FSI, India State of Forest Report 2023, Vol II, West Bengal chapter, Tables 10.29.2 and 10.29.3. Change is in km2 against the revised raster-based ISFR 2021 assessment. FSI marks Darjeeling and Kalimpong as hill districts. The report does not give reasons for district-level changes.

Forest cover by West Bengal district (FSI ISFR 2023)
District	Geographic area (km²)	Very dense	Moderately dense	Open	Total forest (km²)	% of area	Change vs 2021 (km²)	Scrub (km²)
Kalimpong	1,095	324.66	343.09	265.82	933.57	85.26	0.37	0.9
Darjeeling	2,054	397.04	338.9	666.63	1,402.57	68.28	-2.82	6.82
Alipurduar	2,801	438.92	319.19	791.26	1,549.37	55.31	12.42	20.55
Jalpaiguri	3,426	297.45	113.15	868.18	1,278.78	37.33	1.35	23.43
Jhargram	3,097	126.71	310.63	445.4	882.74	28.5	12.83	13.7
South 24 Parganas	9,960	968.2	754.47	1,047.39	2,770.06	27.81	-28.21	0
Paschim Medinipur	6,271	135.16	319.44	857.37	1,311.97	20.92	29.61	10.13
Howrah	1,467	0	48.04	243.57	291.61	19.88	-14.36	0
Bankura	6,882	232.33	420.02	656.43	1,308.78	19.02	41.18	24.22
North 24 Parganas	4,094	13.44	179.01	509.58	702.03	17.15	-5.95	0
Purba Medinipur	4,713	1.68	110.22	678.12	790.02	16.76	-16.3	2.25
Purulia	6,259	40.23	311.59	582.7	934.52	14.93	3.94	23.21
Malda	3,733	0	214.56	294.4	508.96	13.63	20.87	0
Nadia	3,927	1.04	154.95	309.55	465.54	11.85	0.26	0
Cooch Behar	3,387	0	26.88	335.96	362.84	10.71	-1.39	0
Paschim Bardhaman	1,812	47.77	45.79	97.62	191.18	10.55	0.12	4.07
Uttar Dinajpur	3,140	0	3.62	229.1	232.72	7.41	-3.64	0
Murshidabad	5,324	0	52.21	287.8	340.01	6.39	-2.86	0.17
Hooghly	3,149	0	13.36	142.17	155.53	4.94	-1.54	0
Birbhum	4,545	0.54	39.29	146.71	186.54	4.1	2.34	7.17
Dakshin Dinajpur	2,219	0	5.17	76.77	81.94	3.69	-0.06	0
Purba Bardhaman	5,212	11.93	51.75	85.53	149.21	2.86	1.51	1.3
Kolkata	185	0	0.05	1.79	1.84	0.99	0.55	0

›West Bengal mangrove cover in each FSI assessment (km²)(18 rows)

FSI, India State of Forest Report 2023, Vol I, Chapter 3, Tables 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4

West Bengal mangrove cover in each FSI assessment (km²)
Year	Mangrove cover (km²)
1,987	2,076
1,989	2,109
1,991	2,119
1,993	2,119
1,995	2,119
1,997	2,123
1,999	2,125
2,001	2,081
2,003	2,120
2,005	2,136
2,009	2,152
2,011	2,155
2,013	2,097
2,015	2,106
2,017	2,114
2,019	2,112
2,021	2,117.75
2,023	2,119.16

›Mangrove cover by density class, West Bengal, 2021 and 2023 (km²)(4 rows)

FSI, India State of Forest Report 2023, Vol I, Chapter 3, Tables 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4. Very dense: canopy 70% and above; moderately dense: 40-70%; open: 10-40%.

Mangrove cover by density class, West Bengal, 2021 and 2023 (km²)
Class	2021	2023	Change
Very dense mangrove	983.65	981.63	-2.02
Moderately dense mangrove	703.49	703.79	0.3
Open mangrove	430.61	433.74	3.13
Total	2,117.75	2,119.16	1.41

›Mangrove cover by district, West Bengal (km²)(3 rows)

FSI, India State of Forest Report 2023, Vol I, Chapter 3, Tables 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4

Mangrove cover by district, West Bengal (km²)
District	2021	2023	Change
Purba Medinipur	3.65	3.65	0
North 24 Parganas	26.63	26.63	0
South 24 Parganas	2,087.47	2,088.88	1.41

›Municipal solid waste in West Bengal, 2022-23(7 rows)

CPCB, Annual Report on Solid Waste Management 2022-23, Table 1 and Section 3.36. CPCB counts waste as handled if it is treated or put in a sanitary landfill. The gap is generation minus both; open dumping falls in the gap.

Municipal solid waste in West Bengal, 2022-23
Measure	West Bengal	India
Generated (TPD)	13,469	1,70,939
Collected (TPD)	13,449	1,64,621
Treated (TPD)	3,053	1,04,216
Sanitary landfill (TPD)	1,187	38,147
Gap (TPD)	9,229	28,576
Treated (% of generated)	22.7	61
Gap (% of generated)	68.5	16.7

›Solid waste infrastructure in West Bengal, 2022-23(12 rows)

CPCB, Annual Report on Solid Waste Management 2022-23, Table 1 and Section 3.36

Solid waste infrastructure in West Bengal, 2022-23
Measure	Value
Urban local bodies	128
Class I towns	56
Class II towns	33
ULBs with door-to-door collection	125
ULBs segregating waste	122
ULBs using covered transport	122
Compost plants	62
Compost capacity (TPD)	3,029.8
Dumpsites	123
Dumpsites with biomining begun	84
Dumpsites cleared	26
Plastic waste generation, 2021-22 (TPA)	1,28,837.03

›Ten largest generators of municipal solid waste, 2022-23(10 rows)

CPCB, Annual Report on Solid Waste Management 2022-23, Table 1

Ten largest generators of municipal solid waste, 2022-23
State	Generated (TPD)	Treated (TPD)	Treated (%)
Maharashtra	23,448.46	18,725.2	79.9
Tamil Nadu	16,066.39	9,708.82	60.4
Uttar Pradesh	14,710	7,321	49.8
West Bengal	13,469	3,053	22.7
Karnataka	12,140	6,587	54.3
Telangana	11,394	8,941	78.5
Delhi	11,352	7,352	64.8
Gujarat	10,116	8,090	80
Haryana	8,837	4,558	51.6
Andhra Pradesh	6,890	6,890	100