Lok Sabha Question No. 2549 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-12-22
Subject: Effectiveness of Namami Gange Programme
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: T.N. Prathapan, Amar Singh

2549

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

## DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2549

ANSWERED ON 22.12.2022

## EFFECTIVENESS OF NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME

SHRI T.N. PRATHAPAN

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:-

- (a)  whether  the  Government  is  aware  of  the  ineffectiveness  of  the  Namami  Gange  project  in Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal and if so, the details thereof;
- (b)  the  reasons  as  to  why  only  224  out  of  759  (29.5  per  cent)  of  the  overall  projects  have  been completed after seven years of the programme being in force;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to implement the National Mission for Clean Ganga Executive Committee's  recommendation  to  conduct  an  assessment  of  inter  State  relations  in  the  context  of Namami Gange with the goal of resolving disputes and fostering cooperation; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI ( SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL )

- (a) Under  Namami  Gange  Programme,  a  comprehensive  set  of  effective  interventions  such  as wastewater  treatment,  solid  waste  management,  river  front  management  (ghats  and  crematoria development), e-flow, afforestation, biodiversity conservation and Public Participation etc. have been taken up for rejuvenation of river Ganga and its tributaries. So far, a total of 406 projects have been taken  up  by  National  Mission  for  Clean  Ganga  (NMCG),  out  of  which  224  projects  have  been completed  and  made  operational.  The  details  of  projects  sanctioned  and  completed  in  Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal as on October 2022, are as under:-

| Sewage Infrastructure                   | Sewage Infrastructure                   | Sewage Infrastructure                   | Sewage Infrastructure                   | Sewage Infrastructure                                             | Sewage Infrastructure                   | Sewage Infrastructure                   | Sewage Infrastructure                   | Sewage Infrastructure                                         | Sewage Infrastructure                   |
|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
| Projects Status as on 31st October 2022 | Projects Status as on 31st October 2022 | Projects Status as on 31st October 2022 | Projects Status as on 31st October 2022 | Projects Status as on 31st October 2022                           | Projects Status as on 31st October 2022 | Projects Status as on 31st October 2022 | Projects Status as on 31st October 2022 | Projects Status as on 31st October 2022                       | Projects Status as on 31st October 2022 |
| Sl No                                   | States                                  | No of Projects                          | STP Capacity to be created (In MLD)     | Creation of STP capacity through rehabilitation of Old STP in MLD | Sewer Network to be laid (in km)        | No. of Projects completed               | STP Capacity Created                    | STP capacity created through rehabilitation of Old STP in MLD | Sewer Network laid (in km)              |
| 1.                                      | Uttarakhand41                           |                                         | 223.14                                  |                                                                   | 196.23                                  | 33                                      | 161.80                                  |                                                               | 169.61                                  |
| 2.                                      | Bihar                                   | 33                                      | 676.10                                  | 0.00                                                              | 1770.21                                 | 10                                      | 233.50                                  | 0.00                                                          | 1113.42                                 |
| 3.                                      | West Bengal                             | 26                                      | 684.18                                  | 187.04                                                            | 1030.43                                 | 11                                      | 137.03                                  | 137.04                                                        | 841.87                                  |

DR. AMAR SINGH

In Uttarakhand, the installed sewage treatment capacity is more than the sewage generated; while in Bihar, with the implementation of NamamiGange programme, the sewage treatment capacity will increase 10 times. In West Bengal also the projects are being implemented successfully to improve the water quality.

Based on the water quality assessment by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 5 Ganga main stem States in  2022 (January to September), the observed water quality indicates that 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 river for almost entire stretch of river Ganga.

Further,  as  a  result  of  multi  sectoral  interventions,  as  per  comparison  of  median  data  of  water quality parameters viz., DO and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Faecal Coliforms (FC) of year 2014 and 2022 (January to September); DO (Median) has improved at 33 locations, BOD (Median) has improved at 40 locations and FC (Median) has improved at 28 locations, respectively.

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. The projects have now taken  their  pace  and  efforts  are  now  being  made  to  complete  the  projects  by  their  scheduled completion timeline.

(b) Under Namami Gange Programme, total 406 projects have been sanctioned and out of this 224 projects are completed which accounts for 55% of total projects sanctioned.

The impediments faced during implementation of infrastructure and sewerage projects include: delays in obtaining permissions for road cutting, railways/NH crossings, land procurement, forest clearances, change of sites, Covid-19, abnormal floods etc. However, steps have been taken to address these issues and the project  completion has gained momentum.

(c) & (d) Executive Committee (EC) of NMCG has approved the project on ' Interstate Cooperation for Namami Gange: Policy and Institutional Challenges and Opportunities' in its 43rd meeting held on  13th  July  2022.  The  project  was  developed  in  pursuance  of  the  objectives  of  the  MoU  signed between NMCG and Centre for Policy Research (CPR) on 14th December 2021. The objectives of the proposal are as follows:

- i. Carry  out  an  assessment  of  interstate  relations  taking  into  consideration  of  the  history  of conflicts and cooperation in the basin.
- ii. Examine the emerging collective concerns about water quality in the basin to understand the potential for mobilizing collective action.
- iii. Identify gaps and avenues for the Centre to address towards enabling interstate cooperation for Ganga rejuvenation.