The head of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), which oversees the Union government’s key initiative to clean the Ganga and its tributaries, recently expressed concern about the slow progress of river-cleaning projects in various states under the mission.

India’s National River: 

• The Ganga, one the longest rivers in the world, sustains more than 40 per cent of India’s population. 

• Rising in the Himalayas and flowing in to the Bay of Bengal, the river traverses a course of more than 2,500 km through the plains of north and eastern India. 

• The Ganga basin – which also extends into parts of Nepal, China and Bangladesh – accounts for 26 per cent of India’s landmass, 30 per cent of its water resources. 

• Over 40 per cent of India’s gross domestic product is generated in the densely populated basin. 

• The river is facing pressures from human and economic activities that impact its water quality and flows.

• Over 80 per cent of the pollution load in the Ganga comes from untreated domestic wastewater from towns and cities along the river and its tributaries.

• Following the declaration of Ganga as the National River in 2008, there was a paradigm shift in the efforts at cleaning the river. 

Progress of the Mission

• Now, the programme has made a significant shift. From merely cleaning the river through a network of sewage treatment plants, it is becoming a model for propelling rural economy with a focus on the cultural aspects of the Ganga. 

• In December 2022, the United Nations recognised Namami Gange as one of the top 10 world restoration flagships to revive the natural world.

• Since 2015, numerous projects have been launched as part of the Namami Gange mission, with the most expensive and vital focusing on developing sewage-management infrastructure. 

• Records show that nearly Rs 37,550 crore have been allocated to various Namami Gange projects, but as of June 2024, only Rs 18,033 crore have been utilised. 

• Sewage infrastructure projects account for Rs 15,039 crore of the latter amount. 

National Mission for Clean Ganga

National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) started the Mission Clean Ganga in 2009 with the objectives of: 

i) Ensuring effective abatement of pollution and conservation of the river Ganga by adopting a river basin approach to promote inter-sectoral coordination for comprehensive planning and management. 

ii) Maintaining environmental flows in the river Ganga with the aim of ensuring water quality and environmentally sustainable development. 

• In 2011, National Ganga River Basin Project helped set up the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) as the nodal agency to manage the river, and financed sewage treatment infrastructure in several riverside towns and cities.

• Namami Gange Programme, is an integrated conservation mission, approved as a flagship programme by the Union government. 

• It was launched in May 2015 with a budget outlay of Rs 20,000 crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of national river Ganga.

• NGRBA was dissolved in 2016, consequent to constitution of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga (referred as National Ganga Council).

The main pillars of Namami Gange are:

• Sewerage treatment infrastructure

• Riverfront development

• River surface cleaning

• Biodiversity

• Afforestation

• Public awareness

• Industrial effluent monitoring

• Ganga Gram.

• In 2019, the Ministry of Jal Shakti was formed by merging the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation and Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation.

• Now, NMCG falls under the department of water resources, river development & ganga rejuvenation in Ministry of Jal Shakti.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)