The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), ministry of finance, is planning to undertake an environmental audit, the topic of which is water pollution in India.

Issues, causes and mitigation methods relating to rivers, lakes and groundwater in the country would be addressed in the audits. The aim would also be to identify critical issues and suggest solutions which would help the government to conserve and protect this scarce resource more effectively. It is in this backdrop, the CAG is organising an international conference on environment concerns about water pollution, the finance ministry said.

The purpose of this conference is to deliberate on the causes of pollution, action taken by governments and civil society to address these concerns and environmental, management and legal interventions needed to put lakes, rivers and ground water on the path of sustainability, the ministry said.

Vinod Rai, CAG of India, Dr RK Pachauri, chairman, intergovernmental panel on climate change, minister of state for environment & forests Jairam Ramesh and Dr Josef Moser, president of the Austrian court of audit & secretary-general of the international organisation of supreme audit institutions would be addressing the conference.

More than 20 experts on water and water pollution issues would speak during the conference. The heads of supreme audit institutions from countries like Austria, Maldives, Bangladesh and Bhutan will also be present to share their experiences regarding audit of water pollution in their countries. It is envisaged that taking into account the vast experience and knowledge of panelists in this field, CAG can contribute meaningfully towards more effective environmental management.

More than 100 audits on diverse environmental issues like biodiversity, pollution of rivers, and waste management have been conducted by the CAG.