Lok Sabha Question No. 1913 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-31
Subject: Water Quality of Ganga River during Mahakumbh, 2025
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri Balwant Baswant Wankhade

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1913

ANSWERED ON 31.07.2025

## WATER QUALITY OF GANGA RIVER DURING MAHAKUMBH, 2025

## †1913. SHRI BALWANT BASWANT WANKHADE

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Central  Pollution  Control  Board  (CPCB)  had  conducted  regular  monitoring  of  water quality of Ganga river during Mahakumbh, 2025;

(b) if so, the details of the frequency of monitoring, specific locations, important norms for testing and the outcome thereof;

(c) whether any post-event assessment has been conducted to review the sanitation infrastructure, solid waste disposal and sewage management;

(d) if so, the details of the outcome and the corrective measures implemented;

(e) the details of the total  number  of  Namami  Gange  projects  sanctioned,  completed,  under implementation and lying pending for approval; and

(f) whether the Government has made any assessment of the effectiveness of completed Namami Gange projects, their important outcome, challenges identified and measurable results, if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a)  to  (d) Central  Pollution  Control  Board  (CPCB)  has  informed  that  it  carried  out  water  quality monitoring at 5 stations (twice a week) from 12th January 2025 to 20th February 2025 during Maha Kumbh 2025 at Shringverpur Ghat, Lord Kurzon Bridge, Nagvasuki Mandir, Sangam and Deeha Ghat, covering auspicious bathing (Amrit Snan) days including pre- and post- days of such auspicious bathing days.  Further,  three  more  water  quality  monitoring  locations  at  Shastri  Bridge,  Someshwar  Ghat  and downstream of Delhi Public School with effect from 21.02.2025, thus taking the monitoring locations for river Ganga water quality from 5 to 8.

As per the comprehensive report prepared based on the above monitoring, the median value of pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Feacal Coliform (FC) for all the monitored  locations  was  found  within  the  respective  criteria/permissible  limits  for  Primary  Bathing Water Quality Criteria.

The  Prayagraj  Mela  Authority  had  prepared  a  comprehensive  Sanitation  Plan  for  Maha  Kumbh 2025 after conducting industry consultations to explore and adopt the latest technologies with following main features:

- i. To  ensure  accountability  and  performance,  Service  Level  Benchmarks  (SLBs)  were included  in  the  contracts  with  toilet  vendors,  covering  manpower  deployment,  cesspool operations, and jet spray cleaning.
- ii. Post-Mela  Sanitation  Measures  included  the  systematic  dismantling  and  removal  of  all toilets.  Hygienic uninstallation was ensured by the sanitation team, using Malathion (5%) and Slaked Lime for effective disinfection and neutralisation of waste.
- iii. Approximately  250  km  of  temporary  drainage  lines  for  collecting  wastewater  (excluding septage)  within  the  Mela  area.  The  collected  water  was  treated  through  bioremediation techniques in dedicated ponds. These temporary lines were dismantled post-event and stored for  reuse  in  future  events  such  as  the  upcoming  Magh  Mela,  and  the  ponds  were subsequently backfilled.
- iv. For  septage  treatment,  three  temporary  Sewage  Treatment  Plants  (STPs)  of  500  KLD capacity  each  were  installed  at  various  locations  within  the  Mela  premises.  Additionally, two Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (FSTPs) of 50 KLD capacity each and one FSTP of 100 KLD were also utilised. These facilities were uninstalled after the event concluded.
- v. The  post-event  reviews  confirmed  that  sanitation  and  wastewater  management  systems functioned effectively. Based on these learnings, corrective actions and planning improvements  are  being  implemented  for  Maha  Kumbh  2025,  including  enhanced  reuse strategies,  improved  disinfection  protocols,  and  structured  redeployment  of  sanitation infrastructure.

(e) A  total  of  502  projects  have  been  sanctioned  under  the  Namami  Gange  Programme  for  the rejuvenation of the River Ganga and its tributaries. Out of these, 323 projects have been completed, 150 are currently under implementation, and 29 are at the tendering stage.

(f) The Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) was engaged as a Third Party Agency (TPA) for the appraisal of the Namami Gange Mission (NGM). ASCI has observed the following in its report:

- i. NGM has led to considerable additions to wastewater treatment infrastructure in the Ganga river  basin,  balanced  with  investments  in  riverfront  and  ghat  development,  river  surface cleaning processes, afforestation, biodiversity conservation, organic agriculture, etc.
- ii. Capacity building of implementing agencies and other stakeholders, along with community engagement to support the initiatives, are among the other key contributions of the projects.
- iii. The decentralisation and mainstreaming of program tasks within the basin states and local body establishments have been the hallmark of the programme.
- iv. ASCI, in its appraisal, stated that NGM has shown good progress in achieving its mandate of continuous flow (Aviral Dhara) and unpolluted flow (Nirmal Dhara).
- v. It  has  demonstrated successful and replicable models for implementing a large-scale river rejuvenation programme in a mission mode and has gained global recognition.

The main challenges in implementation of Namami Gange Mission are following:

- i. Identification of suitable land for the establishment of new Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs)
- ii. The  issuance  of  statutory  clearances  such  as  right  of  way  for  sewage-related  networks, obtaining permissions for road cutting, No Objection Certificates (NoCs) from competent authorities like forest and revenue departments;

In  order  to  address  and  overcome  these  challenges,  the  National  Mission  for  Clean  Ganga (NMCG) has been actively involved in closely monitoring the status of the projects. NMCG regularly conducts  comprehensive  review  meetings  under  the  chairmanship  of  the  competent  authority  and through the Central Monitoring Committee (CMC) to evaluate progress, identify potential roadblocks, and ensure timely resolutions.

Measurable outcomes of the implementation of the NGM is provided through the reports of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on pollution assessment of rivers of India.  As per the report, the  Priority  River  Stretches  (PRSs)  on  the  river  Ganga,  based  on  the  assessment  carried  out  in  2022 (using 2019 and 2021 data), are as under:

- a. Uttarakhand does not fall under polluted stretches (BOD < 3 mg/l);

b.   In Uttar Pradesh, stretches from Farrukhabad to Allahabad and Mirzapur to Ghazipur fall under Priority Class V (BOD 3-6 mg/l);

c.     In  Bihar,  stretches  along  Buxar,  Patna,  Fatwah,  and  Bhagalpur  fall  under  Priority  Class  IV (BOD 6-10 mg/l);

- d.   Jharkhand does not fall under polluted stretches (BOD < 3 mg/l);

e.   In West Bengal, the stretch from Behrampur to Haldia falls under Priority Class IV (BOD 6-10 mg/l).

Further, the value of Dissolved Oxygen (DO), which is an indicator of river health, has been found to be within the acceptable limits of the notified primary bathing water quality criteria and is satisfactory to support the ecosystem of the river along almost the entire stretch of the river Ganga.

As  per  the  biomonitoring  conducted  during  2024-25  at  50  locations  along  River  Ganga  and  its tributaries,  and  26  locations  along  River  Yamuna  and  its  tributaries,  the  Biological  Water  Quality (BWQ)  predominantly  ranged  from  'Good'  to  'Moderate'.  The  presence  of  diverse  benthic  macroinvertebrate species indicates the ecological potential of the rivers to sustain aquatic life.

Further, the population of Dolphins in the river Ganga has shown a marked increase over the past decade.  From  an  estimated  baseline  of  2,500-3,000  individuals  in  2009,  the  population  rose  to approximately  3,500  in  2015  and  further  to  around  6,327  individuals  as  per  the  nationwide  survey conducted during 2021-2023. This represents more than a twofold increase since 2009. In the Ganga basin,  the  2021-2023  assessment  across  17  tributaries  confirmed  dolphin  presence  in  multiple  rivers where  they  were  previously  unrecorded,  such  as  the  Rupnarayan,  Girwa,  Kauriyala,  Babai,  Rapti, Bagmati, Mahananda, Ken, Betwa, and Sind.

*****