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The number of polluted stretches in India’s rivers has increased to 351 from 302 two years ago, and the number of critically polluted stretches where water quality indicators are the poorest has gone up to 45 from 34, according to an assessment by the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board). While the Rs. 20,000 crore clean-up of the Ganga may be the most visible of the government’s efforts to tackle pollution, the CPCB says several of the river’s stretches in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are actually far less polluted than many rivers in Maharashtra, Assam and Gujarat. These three States account for 117 of the 351 polluted river stretches.