Lok Sabha Question No. 2068 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-31
Subject: Allocation of Funds under NMCG
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Dr. Thirumaavalavan Tholkappiyan

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2068

ANSWERED ON 31.07.2025

## ALLOCATION OF FUNDS UNDER NMCG

2068.

DR. THIRUMAAVALAVAN THOLKAPPIYAN

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the details of the funds allocated so far under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG);

(b) whether the Government has fixed any target dates by which the river Ganga and its tributaries would be cleaned; and

(c) if so, the details thereof along with the achievements made, if any?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) The Government of India (GoI) launched the Namami Gange Programme (NGP) in 2014-15 for the rejuvenation  of  river  Ganga  and  its  tributaries  for  five  years,  up  to  March  2021  and  has  been  further extended to March 2026.

The budgetary allocation [Revised/Final Estimates (RE)] for the Namami Gange Programme from financial year (FY) 2014-15 to FY 2024-25 was ₹ 23,424.86 crore. The Budget Estimates (BE) for FY 2025-26 are ₹ 3,400 crore. Thus, the total budgetary allocation for the Namami Gange Programme since inception up to FY 2025-26 is ₹ 26,824.86 crore.

(b) & (c): Cleaning of river is a continuous process and Government of India is supplementing the efforts of the State Governments 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 comprehensive set of 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.

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.

The achievements of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) for improving the health of the river Ganga and its tributaries are as under:

- i. 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.

- ii. Reduction  in  pollution  load  of  Grossly  Polluting  Industries  (GPIs): Annual  inspection  of GPIs through third party technical institutes like IITs and reputed engineering colleges started in 2017. This has resulted in reduction in BOD load from 26 tons per day (TPD) in 2017 to 13.73 TPD in 2023, and about 28.6 % reduction in effluent discharge from 349 MLD in 2017 to 249.31 MLD in 2023.
- iii. As per the biomonitoring conducted during 2024-25 at 50 locations along River Ganga and its tributaries,  the  Biological  Water  Quality  (BWQ)  predominantly  ranged  from  'Good'  to 'Moderate'.
- iv. 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.
- v. The United Nations (UN) has recognized Namami Gange initiative to rejuvenate India's sacred River Ganga as one of the top 10 World Restoration Flagships to revive the natural world. The Award was received by NMCG at a function in the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention  on  Biodiversity  (CBD)  in  Montreal,  Canada  on  14th  December  2022,  the  World Restoration Day.

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