Lok Sabha Question No. 1870 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-14
Subject: Namami Gange Programme
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Vijay Kumar Hansdak

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1870

## ANSWERED ON 14.12.2023

## NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME

## 1870.   SHRI VIJAY KUMAR HANSDAK

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) whether it is a fact that the Namami Gange Programme is launched by the Government to rejuvenate the river Ganga and its tributaries;

(b) if so, the funds allocated and spent on the various projects that have been undertaken for this purpose since 2014, year-wise; and

(c) the details of the achievements made so far in respect of wastewater treatment, solid waste management, riverfront development, afforestation, biodiversity conservation and public participation?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI BISHWESWAR TUDU )

(a) Government of India (GoI) has launched the Namami Gange Programme in 2014-15, to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of the National River Ganga  and  its  tributaries.  The  Government  of  India  (GoI)  is  supplementing  the  efforts  of  the  State Governments  in  addressing  the  challenges  of  pollution  of  river  Ganga  and  its  tributaries  by  providing financial and technical assistance under Namami Gange Programme.

(b) From  Financial  Year  2014-15  to  till  31st  October  2023,  a  total  sum  of   ₹  16,011.65  crore  were released by the Government of India to the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and NMCG has released/disbursed   ₹  15,015.26  crore  to  various  agencies  for  implementation  of  projects  under  the Programme. The year-wise financial detail is enclosed at Annexure.

(c) The details of the Major achievements made so far concerning wastewater treatment, solid waste management, riverfront development, afforestation, biodiversity conservation and public participation are as under:

-  Under the Namami Gange Programme, for river pollution abatement, so far, a total of 450 projects have been taken up at an estimated cost of ₹ 38,022.37 Crore, out of which 270 projects have been completed and made operational. Among these  450 projects, 195 sewerage infrastructure projects have been taken up, out of which, 109 projects have already been completed resulting in the creation & rehabilitation of 2,664.05 MLD of STP capacity and the laying of 4,465.54 km sewerage network.
-  In the 15 th Conference of Parties (CoP15) at Montreal, Canada in 2022, the United Nations Decade on  Ecosystem  Restoration  has  recognized  Namami  Gange  initiative  as  one  of  the  top  10  World Restoration Flagships.
-  NMCG has identified the industrial clusters for promoting the abatement of pollution and support financially  to  sectors  like  tannery,  textile  effluent  and  others.  National  Mission  for  Clean  Ganga (NMCG)  till  date  has  sanctioned  5  industrial  projects  of  Common  Effluent  Treatment  Plants (CETPs)  i.e.  Jajmau  CETP  (20  MLD),  Banther  CETP  (4.5  MLD),  Unnao  CETP  (2.65  MLD), Mathura  CETP  (6.25  MLD)  and  Gorakhpur  CETP  (7.5  MLD).  Out  of  this,  Mathura  CETP  (6.5 MLD) project  is  completed,  and  the  plant  is  in  the  operational  stage  with  50  %  recycling  to  its member's units. CETP Jajmau is nearly completed, and one module (10 MLD) is under testing with fresh water. Other CETP projects are also in progress.
-  Based on the water quality assessment by CPCB in 5 Ganga main stem states in 2023 (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. The median value of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) has been found within the acceptable  limits  except  marginal  exceedance  (BOD:  3.2  to  4.5  mg/L)  in  stretch  from  (i) Farrukhabad to Dalmau, Rai Bareilly and (ii) downstream Mirzapur to Tarighat, Ghazipur (except upstream Varanasi, Vishwa Sundari Bridge) in Uttar Pradesh.
-  Under the National River Ranching over 93 lakhs indigenous Indian Major Craps fishes and 90000 Hilsa  have  been  ranched  in  the  Ganga  with  a  goal  to  conserve  fish  biodiversity,  and  increase  the prey base for river dolphin & improve livelihood of fishermen in Ganga basin. There has been a significant improvement in biodiversity with increased species sightings of dolphins, otters, Hilsa, turtles, etc.
-  Under the afforestation initiative by NMCG 30,071 Hectare plantation has so far been carried out, for which an expenditure of ₹ 347.02 crores has been incurred by NMCG in coordination with the State  Forest  Departments  in  the  state  of  Uttarakhand,  Uttar  Pradesh,  Bihar,  Jharkhand,  and  West Bengal.
-  Wetland conservation is an integral component of the 'Namami Gange' programme, under which 4 different projects have been sanctioned to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar & Jharkhand for ₹ 12.53 crore for the conservation of wetlands, which are under implementation.
-  PRAYAG-Platform  for  Real-time  Analysis  of  Yamuna,  Ganga  and  their  Tributaries,  an  online dashboard  was  setup  on  20th  April  2023  for  continuous  monitoring  of  river  water  quality, performance of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETPs), etc. on the Ganga and Yamuna river.
-  Under Namami Gange Programme, 235 Ghats, 62 crematoria and 9 Kunds have been sanctioned. Out of these, 205 Ghats 51 Crematoria and 9 Kunds have been constructed.
-  Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in collaboration with NMCG monitors the water quality of River  Ganga  through  97  manual  water  quality  stations,  76  Real-Time  Water  Quality  Monitoring Stations (RTWQMS) are also installed.
-  On 25 November, 2021 NMCG started  the "River Cites Alliance' (RCA) with 30 river cities on the banks of river Ganga as a first-of-its-kind initiative serving as a dedicated platform for river cities in India to ideate, discuss, and exchange information for the sustainable management of urban rivers under  the  Urban  River  Management  Plan  (URMP).  It  has  now  142  cities  on  the  banks  of  many Indian rivers and Aarhus city of Denmark as members.
-  On 6 December 2023, at CoP 28, RCA signed a Memorandum of Common Purposes (MoCP) with the Mississippi River Cities and Towns Initiative (MRCTI), representing 124 cities/towns situated along the banks of the Mississippi River, USA to promote knowledge sharing and capacity building between the RCA and MRCTI.
-  Expanding the RCA, on 10 December, 2023, 'Global River Cities Alliance' (GRCA), led by NMCG was launched at the Conference of Parties  (CoP28) in Dubai with 9 countries and 2 international cities;  international  funding  agencies-  World  Bank,  Asian  Development  Bank  (ADB),  Asian Infrastructure  Investment  Bank  (AIIB)  and  knowledge  management  institutions  -  KPMG  entering into a partnership to provide a unique platform for global river cities to ideate, network, support and co-learn to foster river centric development.
-  The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has undertaken comprehensive public awareness campaigns to foster a sense of responsibility and engagement among the public in efforts to clean and  conserve  the  Ganga  River.  Through  educational  materials,  community  outreach,  school programs,  mass  media  campaigns,  and  online  engagement.  For  public  awareness  towards  river rejuvenation,  Ganga  Utsav,  Ganga  Run,  Ganga  Rafting  expeditions,  treks  ,  Ghat  pe  Haat  with  a social message and several activities have also been taken up.
-  Cadre of 'Ganga Doots' (45,000 Nos), 'Ganga Praharis' (2,900 Nos) and 'Ganga Mitra' (700 nos) involved in public participatory activities.
-  To promote the cleanliness of the Ganga River at the district level, 139 District Ganga Committees (DGC) have been constituted under the chairmanship of District Magistrates. The performance is monitored  by  the  the  'Digital  Dashboard  for  District  Ganga  Committees  (DGCs)  Performance Monitoring  System'  (GDPMS)  .  District  Ganga  Committees  conduct  4M  (Monthly,  Mandated, Minuted, and Monitored) meetings, which were inaugurated by the Honorable Minister of Jal Shakti on April 6, 2022. As of October 2023, more than 2,070 meetings have been conducted.
-  NMCG together with other agencies in coordination with the selected DGCs have prepared District Ganga  Plans  for  4  districts  in  Ramganga  Basin  i.e.  Udham  Singh  Nagar  in  Uttarakhand  , Shahjahanpur, Moradabad and Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh using a common methodology and River Basin  Management  framework  developed  by  NMCG  with  technical  support  under  the  India-EU Water Partnership (IEWP). These help in fostering decentralized planning and better participation of people in river basin management.
-  Construction of independent household toilets in 4,507 identified villages in the five River Ganga states has been completed. All these Ganga bank villages have now been declared open defecationfree (ODF).

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO REPLY TO PART (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1870 TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  14.12.2023  REGARDING  'NAMAMI  GANGE PROGRAMME'.

The details of year-wise fund releases by Government of India to NMCG and disbursement/release by NMCG to implementation agencies:

| Financial Year   | Releases by Government of India (Rs. in crore)   | Disbursement/release by NMCG(Rs. in crore)   |
|------------------|--------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|
| 2014-15          | 326.00                                           | 170.99                                       |
| 2015-16          | 1,632.00                                         | 602.29                                       |
| 2016-17          | 1,675.00                                         | 1,057.87                                     |
| 2017-18          | 1,423.12                                         | 1,579.81                                     |
| 2018-19          | 2,307.50                                         | 2,589.74                                     |
| 2019-20          | 1,553.40                                         | 2,297.11                                     |
| 2020-21          | 1,300.00                                         | 1,339.97                                     |
| 2021-22          | 1,892.70                                         | 1,881.76                                     |
| 2022-23          | 2,220.00                                         | 2,215.85                                     |
| 2023-24*         | 1,681.93                                         | 1,279.87                                     |
| Total            | 16,011.65                                        | 15,015.26                                    |

(* Till 31 st October 2023)

## Note:

- i. Grants disbursement by NMCG in a particular year might not have been actually utilized in the same year.
- ii. Out  of  the  grants  released  by  the  Government  of  India,  unspent  grants  amounting  to  Rs. 572.42 have been refunded by various implementing/ executing agencies to the Consolidated Fund of India. The disbursements/release figures by NMCG  is  after adjustment of said amount.
- iii. Till  FY  2020-21,  grants  released  to  the  NMCG  by  the  Government  of  India  were  nonlapsable. Disbursement by NMCG during a particular year included release against unspent grants carried forward from previous years.

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