Lok Sabha Question No. 18 (STARRED), answered on 2023-02-02
Subject: Forestry Interventions under Namami Gange Programme
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Ramesh Chander Kaushik, Locket Chatterjee

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. †

## *18

ANSWERED ON 02.02.2023

## FORESTRY INTERVENTIONS UNDER NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME

## †*18 SHRI RAMESH CHANDER KAUSHIK

## MS. LOCKET CHATTERJEE

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether any financial aid has been provided to implement forestry interventions under Namami Gange  Programme  in  States  located  in  the  Gangetic  plains  such  as  Haryana,  Uttarakhand,  Uttar Pradesh,  Jharkhand  and  West  Bengal  as  well  as  in  Bhagalpur,  Bihar  as  per  the  Detailed  Project Report (DPR) prepared by the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun from the year 2016-17 and if so, the details thereof;

(b) the changes seen in the purity of the Ganges and its tributaries, particularly in Bhagalpur and the benefits earned from the said forestry interventions, State/UT and district-wise;

(c)  whether  any  examination  and  study  has  been  conducted  in  this  regard  and  if  so,  the  details thereof;

(d) whether the concerned department do not place/present the progress report of the Namami Gange Programme  before  the  District  Development  Coordination  and  Monitoring  Committee  (DISHA), particularly in Bhagalpur; and

(e) if so, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF JAL SHAKTI

(SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) to (e) : A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT TO BE LAID ON THE TABLE OF LOK SABHA IN RESPECT OF PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *18 FOR 02.02.2023 REGARDING 'FORESTRY INTERVENTIONS UNDER NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME'

(a) Under the Namami Gange Programme (NGP), financial assistance is provided for implementing forestry interventions in the five Ganga bank states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand & West Bengal as per the DPR prepared by Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun since the year 2016-17 onwards. The forestry interventions in Bihar State include Bhagalpur.

So  far  no  forestry  interventions  have  been  carried  out  in  Haryana  under  Namami  Gange Programme.

Since  2016-17  to  till  date,  30,071  hectare  plantation  has  so  far  been  carried  out  under Namami Gange Programme, for which an expenditure of Rs. 347.02 crores has been incurred by the State Forest Departments in the 5 states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal with details as below:

| State         |   Area in ha. |   Expenditure (Rs. In Cr.) |
|---------------|---------------|----------------------------|
| Uttarakhand   |         10357 |                     128.54 |
| Uttar Pradesh |          8820 |                      71.08 |
| Bihar         |          7895 |                      97.76 |
| Jharkhand     |           884 |                      26.25 |
| West Bengal   |          2115 |                      23.39 |
| Total         |         30071 |                     347.02 |

As per information provided by State Forest Department, Bihar, in Bhagalpur, forestry works have  been  carried  in  1228.32  ha.  area  for  which  an  expenditure  of  Rs.  39.878  crore  has  been incurred.

It  is  also  mentioned  that  funds  are  sanctioned  to  the  State  Forest  Departments  of  the respective States only.

(b) & (c) Based on the water quality assessment by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 5 Ganga  main  stem  States  in  2022  (January  to  October),  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  October);  DO  (Median)  has  improved  at  33  locations,  BOD (Median) has improved at 40 locations and FC (Median) has improved 28 locations, respectively.

Under the Namami Gange Programme (NGP), manual water quality monitoring was conducted at 3 locations in Bhagalpur district of Bihar during the year 2014. However, number of stations gradually increased based on available resources and water quality problems. River water quality is assessed for  primary  water  quality  criteria  notified  for  outdoor  bathing  criteria  in  terms  of  pH  (6.5-8.5), Dissolved  Oxygen  (DO  ≥5mg/L),  Bio-chemical  Oxygen  Demand  (BOD  ≤3mg/L)  and  Faecal Coliform (FC ≤2500 MPN/100ml). Monthly data (median values) of parameters such as pH, DO, BOD and FC of the  year  2014  and  2022  (January  to  October)  is  compared  for  3  locations.  The following observations are made:

-  pH is maintained and has been complying the water quality norms throughout the years.
-  DO  and  BOD  has  been  complying  and  also  have  improved  at  all  3  locations  namely Sultanganj (Bhagalpur), Bhagalpur and Kahalgaon.

It is not possible to isolate improvement in Water Quality due to one intervention alone. Large no. of intervention  viz. Sewerage Treatment Plant (STP), e-flow, afforestation, biodiversity conservation etc.  have  integrated  impact  on  riverine  water  quality.  it  is  mentioned  that  a  study  project  was sanctioned to Indian  Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal in February, 2021 for 'Midterm evaluation of forestry plantations funded by NMCG', to know the efficacy of the interventions in five Ganga States. The final report was submitted to NMCG on 18th June 2022.  The findings of the project indicates overall good survival rate (percent survival rate varied between 60% to 84%) and growth of the plants due to good practices and adoption of suitable plantation models in natural, assisted and reconstructive Ganga riverscape / landscape.

(d) & (e) Namami Gange Programme is not included for monitoring under District Development Coordination  and  Monitoring  Committee  (DISHA)  as  per  guidelines  issued  by  Ministry  of  Rural Development, Government of India.

However,  National  Mission  for  Clean  Ganga(  NMCG)  has  constituted  District  Ganga Committees  which  are  chaired  by  District  Magistrate  of  the  District  concerned.  At  present,  139 District  Ganga  Committees  (52  on  main  stem  and  87  on  tributaries  of  River  Ganga)  have  been constituted. An initiative called DGC forum (District Ganga Committee, 4M- Monthly Mandated, Minuted  &  Monitored)  meeting  has  been  taken  up  since  April,  2022.  NMCG  directed  District Magistrates to have DGC Meetings on fixed days of the month (preferably on 2 nd Friday). So far, details  of  611  meetings  have  been  uploaded  on  the  Digital  Dashboard  for  District  Ganga Committees (DGCs) Performance Monitoring System' (GDPMS). The District Ganga Committee including  District  Bhagalpur  holds  meetings  as  per  decided  agenda  which  inter-alia  includes progress of activities under Namami Gange Programme (NGP) and the decision during deliberation are recorded as Minutes of Meeting (MoM).