Lok Sabha Question No. 866 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-02
Subject: Cleaning of Ganga River
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Arvind Kumar Sharma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI, DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 866

ANSWERED ON 02.12.2021

## CLEANING OF GANGA RIVER

## 866.       DR. ARVIND KUMAR SHARMA

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether the mandate of cleaning of Ganga river by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has been achieved and if so, the details thereof; and

(b) the details of achievements of NMCG during the last three years?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## (SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU)

(a) & (b) Cleaning of river is a continuous process and Government of India is supplementing the efforts of the  State  Government  in  addressing  the  challenges  of  pollution  in  river  Ganga  and  its  tributaries  by providing financial and  technical assistance under Namami Gange Programme. Under this programme, a diverse set of interventions for cleaning and rejuvenation of river Ganga has been taken up including waste water  treatment,  solid  waste  management,  river  front  management  (ghats  and  crematoria  development), maintaining continuous flow, rural sanitation, afforestation, biodiversity conservation and Public Participation etc.

Under  Namami  Gange  Programme,  so  far,  a  total  of  353  projects  have  been  sanctioned  at  an estimated cost of Rs.30,458Crore, out of which 178 projects have been completed and made operational. 157 sewerage infrastructure projects from among these have been taken up with a sanctioned cost of Rs. 24,249 Crore for creation & rehabilitation of 4952 MLD of STP capacity and laying of around 5212 KM sewerage network, out of which, 74 projects have been completed resulting in creation & rehabilitation of 1092 MLD of STP capacity and laying of 3752 KM sewerage network.

On  the  Ganga  main  stem  towns,  projects  have  been  taken  up  to  create  3341  MLD  sewage treatment capacity against the generation of 2953 MLD (in 2016). The sewage treatment capacity in main stem towns have increased from 1305 MLD (2014) to 2372 MLD (November 2021). 42 projects have been taken up in towns located along rivers Yamuna, Kali, Ramganga, Saryu, Gomti, Damodar, Banka, Rispana, Kharkai, Kosi and BurhiGandak.

Development  of  Ghats  &  Crematoria  works  in  select  cities  have  been  taken  up.  61  projects (including one river front development project in Patna) were sanctioned for construction of 210 ghats and 57 crematoria. Out of these, 173 ghats and 45 crematoria have been completed.

During  last  three  years,  39  projects  under  Namami  Gange  Programme  have  been  completed. Further, 572 MLD of installed sewage treatment capacity added in the towns along river Ganga main stem.

As per CPCB Water Quality Median data for 2021(January to May), the observed water quality of river Ganga indicates that Dissolved Oxygen (DO) which is an indicator of river health has been found to be within acceptable limits of notified primary bathing water quality criteria across all 84 monitoring locations. Other important river health indicators i.e. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Faecal Coliform (FC) have also been found to be within acceptable limits of notified primary bathing water quality criteria across 68 monitoring locations (out of 84 locations) and 33 monitoring locations (out of 80 locations) respectively. As  a  result  of  multi  sectoral  interventions,  the  median  values  of  these  water  quality  parameters  viz., Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Faecal Coliform (FC) have improved at 40 locations, 41 locations and 21 locations respectively in 2021 (January-May) as compared to 2014.

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