In order to revitalize the Ganga and its tributaries, the Namami Gange Program was initiated in June 2014 and will run until March 31, 2021, with a budgetary investment of Rs. 20,000 crore. The Government of India has additionally approved Namami Gange Mission-II with a financial outlay of Rs. 22,500 crore till 2026, including projects for existing liabilities (Rs. 11,225 Cr) and new projects/interventions (Rs. 11,275 Cr), in consideration of the program’s necessity and reach. ( SOURCE FROM: Posted On: 13 FEB 2023 4:34PM by PIB Delhi )
The project’s overall budget is as follows: ( source from PIB Delhi )
The Namami Gange Programme was launched in June 2014 for a period up to 31st March 2021 to rejuvenate the River Ganga and its tributaries with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 20,000 crore. Considering the need and spread of the program, the Government of India has further approved Namami Gange Mission-II with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 22,500 crore till 2026, inter alia, including projects for existing liabilities (Rs. 11,225 crore) and new projects/interventions (Rs. 11,275 crore).
the Namami Gange Program
A total of Rs. 14,084.72 crore has been released by the Government of India to the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), from Financial Year (FY) 2014-15 till 31st January 2023, out of which Rs. 13,607.18 crore have been released by NMCG to state governments, state missions for clean ganga, and other agencies for the implementation of projects related to ganga rejuvenation.
the Namami Gange Program
There is no state-wise allocation under the Namami Gange Programme. However, the amount released by NMCG to various agencies for implementation of projects, compiled state-wise, from 2014-15 up till 31 January 2023, is as under:
| State | Amt. (Rs. in crore) |
| Uttarakhand | 1,149.01 |
| U.P | 4,347.24 |
| Bihar | 3,526.43 |
| Jharkhand | 250.05 |
| West Bengal | 1,369.12 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 9.89 |
| Delhi | 1,253.86 |
| Haryana | 89.61 |
| Rajasthan | 71.25 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 3.75 |
the Namami Gange Program
Under the Namami Gange Programme, a comprehensive set of interventions such as wastewater treatment, solid waste management, riverfront management (ghats and crematoria development), e-flow, afforestation, biodiversity conservation, public participation, etc. have been taken up for rejuvenation of the river Ganga and its tributaries. So far, till 31st December 2022, a total of 409 projects have been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs. 32,912.40 crore, out of which 232 projects have been completed and made operational. The majority of the projects pertain to the creation of sewage infrastructure, as the untreated domestic/industrial wastewater is the main reason for pollution in the river. 177 sewerage infrastructure projects have been taken up with a cost of Rs. 26,673.06 crore for the creation & rehabilitation of 5,269.87 million liters per day (MLD) of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) capacity and the laying of around 5,213.49 KM of sewerage network. Among these, 99 sewerage projects have been completed, resulting in the creation & rehabilitation of 2,043.05 MLD of STP capacity and the laying of a 4,260.95 KM sewerage network. In order to sustain the continued operation of the sewage treatment infrastructure, hybrid-annuity-based PPP mode has also been adopted.
Under the Namami Gange Programme, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is carrying out studies for water quality assessment of the River Ganga at 97 locations in 5 main stem states through the respective State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs). River water quality is assessed for primary water quality criteria notified for outdoor bathing. As per the designated best use water quality criteria for drinking water specified by CPCB, river water can be used for drinking purposes only after appropriate treatment.
Based on the water quality assessment by CPCB in 5 Ganga main stem states in 2022 (January to October), the observed water quality indicates that the median value of dissolved oxygen, which is an indicator of river health, has been found to be within acceptable limits of notified primary bathing water quality criteria and satisfactory to support the ecosystem of the river for almost the entire stretch of the river Ganga. The median value of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) has been found within the acceptable limits except marginal exceedance (BOD: 3.3 to 4.7 mg/L) in locations/stretches viz. stretch from (i) Farrukhabad to Kala Kankar, Rai Bareilly & D/s Mirzapur to Tarighat, Ghazipur (except U/s Varanasi, Vishwa Sundari Bridge) in Uttar Pradesh and (ii) at Shitalatala, Palta in West Bengal.
Further, as a result of multi-sectoral interventions, as per comparison of median data of water quality parameters, viz., DO, Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Faecal Coliforms (FC), of the years 2014 and 2022 (January to October), DO (median) has improved at 33 locations, BOD (median) has improved at 41 locations and FC (median) has improved at 28 locations, respectively.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bhishweswar Tudu, in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
the Namami Gange Program
The program’s primary pillars are:
- Sewage Treatment Infrastructure
- River-Front Development
- River-Surface Cleaning
- Biodiversity
- Afforestation
- Public Awareness
- Industrial Effluent Monitoring
- Ganga Gram
The ganga river system
- The headwaters of the Ganga called the ‘Bhagirathi’ are fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devprayag in Uttarakhand.
- At Haridwar, Ganga emerges from the mountains to the plains.
- The Ganga is joined by many tributaries from the Himalayas, a few of them being major rivers such as the Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi.
the Namami Gange Program
The following are the main accomplishments of the Namami Gange program: (source: National mission for clean Ganga )
| 1. Creating Sewerage Treatment Capacity:- As of date, 200 sewerage infrastructure projects including 1 decentralized modular project have been sanctioned at a total cost of Rs. 31,810 Crore, out of which 116 projects have been completed and made operational. And remaining projects are under various stages of implementation. |
| 2. Creating River-Front Development:- 84 Ghats/Crematoria projects for construction, modernization, and renovation of 286 Ghats/Crematoria and Kunds/Ponds have been sanctioned. |
| 3. River Surface Cleaning:-River Surface cleaning for collection of floating solid waste from the surface of the Ghats and River and its disposal are afoot and pushed into service at 11 locations. |
| 4. Bio-Diversity Conservation:- One of NMCG’s long-term visions for Ganga rejuvenation is to restore viable populations of all endemic and endangered biodiversity of the river, so that they occupy their full historical range and fulfil their role in maintaining the integrity of the Ganga river ecosystems. To address this, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun, Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), Kolkata & Uttar Pradesh State Forest Department has been awarded projects to develop science – based aquatic species restoration plan for Ganga River by involving multiple stakeholders along with conservation & restoration of aquatic biodiversity. As per the field research conducted by WII, high biodiversity areas have been identified in river Ganga for focused conservation action, rescue & rehabilitation centers have been established for the rescued aquatic biodiversity, cadre of volunteers (Ganga Praharis) have been developed and trained to support conservation actions in the field, floating interpretation centre “Ganga Tarini” and interpretation centre “Ganga Darpan” have been established for developing awareness on biodiversity conservation and Ganga rejuvenation, key ecosystem services of Ganga river have been identified and an assessment framework developed to strengthen the environmental services in the river basin. CIFRI has carried out the assessment of fish and fisheries in the basin to record the available fish species and has mapped it in GIS platform to understand the status and distribution of fishes in Ganga. Tagging procedures has also been initiated to see the migration pattern of identified fish like Hilsa. CIFRI is also conducting ranching and awareness programmes at various locations in the river basin for conservation and restoration of Indian Major Carps (IMC) & Mahseer in Ganga. Further, the Uttar Pradesh State Forest Department is implementing the ‘Expansion of conservation breeding program of freshwater turtles and Gharial at Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Centre, Lucknow’ which will help in revival and restoration of Gharials and turtles in the Ganga basin. |
| 5. Afforestation:- One of the major components of Ganga rejuvenation is ‘forestry interventions’ to enhance the productivity and diversity of the forests in head water areas and all along the river and its tributaries. Accordingly, Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun prepared a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for afforestation in an area of 1,34,106 hectares in the Ganga river bank states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal at an estimated cost of Rs. 2293.73 Crores. The FRI DPR provides for taking up works under four major heads viz. Natural landscape, Agriculture landscape, Urban landscape and Conservation interventions. The main purpose of the proposed forestry interventions is to contribute towards holistic conservation of river Ganga, including improving the flow in the river (Aviralta) by adopting a multi-pronged approach throughout the pre-defined Ganga riverscape. The project of “Forestry Interventions for Ganga” is being implemented by State Forest Departments of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal as per the FRI DPR since year 2016-17, for which NMCG is providing financial support to the respective State Forest Departments. |
| 6. Public Awareness:- A series of activities such as events, workshops, seminars and conferences and numerous IEC activities were organized to make a strong pitch for public outreach and community participation in the programme. Various awareness activities through rallies, campaigns, exhibitions, shram daan, cleanliness drives, competitions, plantation drives and development and distribution of resource materials were organized and for wider publicity the mass mediums such as TV/Radio, print media advertisements, advertorials, featured articles and advertorials were published. Gange Theme song was released widely and played on digital media to enhance the visibility of the programme. NMCG ensured presence at Social Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, You Tube etc. |
| 7. Industrial Effluent Monitoring:- The number of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) in April, 2019 are 1072. Regulation and enforcement through regular and surprise inspections of GPIs is carried out for compliance verification against stipulated environmental norms. The GPIs are also inspected on annual basis for compliance verification of the pollution norms and process modification, wherever required through third party technical institutes. First round of inspection of GPIs by the third-party technical institutes has been carried out in 2017. Second round of inspection of GPIs has been completed in 2018. Out of 961 GPIs inspected in 2018, 636 are complying, 110 are non-complying and 215 are self-closed. Action has been taken against 110 non-complying GPIs and are issued closure directions under Section 5 of the E(P) Act. Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring Stations (OCEMS) connectivity established to CPCB server in 885 out of 1072 GPIs. |
| 8. Ganga Gram:- Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS) identified 1674 Gram Panchayats situated on the bank of River Ganga in 5 State (Uttarakhand,Uttar Pradesh,Bihar,Jharkhand,West Bengal). Rs. 578 Crores has been released to Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS) for construction of toilets in 1674 Gram Panchayats of 5 Ganga Basin States. Out of the targeted 15, 27,105 units, MoDWS has completed construction of 8, 53,397 toilets. Consortium of 7 IITs has been engaged in the preparation of Ganga River basin Plan and 65 villages has been adopted by 13 IITs to develop as model villages. UNDP has been engaged as the executing agency for rural sanitation programme and to develop Jharkhand as a model State at an estimated cost of Rs. 127 Crore. |
| National Mission for Clean Ganga, endeavors to deploy best available knowledge and resources across the world for Ganga rejuvenation. Clean Ganga has been a perennial attraction for many international countries that have expertise in river rejuvenation. Countries such as Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, Israel etc. have shown interest in collaborating with India for Ganga rejuvenation. Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) were signed with various Central Ministries viz.- Ministry of Human Resource Development, Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Ayush, Ministry of Petroleum, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation and Ministry of Agriculture for synergizing the Government schemes. |
the Namami Gange Program
These are the government reports related to this project that have been posted on their portal.
When you go to the river’s bank and view your ganga, you wonder if our government is working on this project or just on paper. This is your opinion of what you see.
the Namami Gange Program
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images source: Google
Disclaimer: The opinions and suggestions expressed in this article are solely those of the individual analysts. These are not the opinions of HNN
