Lok Sabha Question No. 2956 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-08
Subject: Namami Gange Programme
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Shri S Venkatesan

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2956

ANSWERED ON 08.08.2024

## NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME

## 2956. SHRI S VENKATESAN

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the amount of funds spent under Namami Gange Programme during the last five years, year-wise;

(b) the number of times National Council for River Ganga has held meeting between FY 2015 to FY 2024;

(c) the number of polluted river stretches identified during the last five years, year-wise;

(d)  whether  a  consortium of seven  IITs has submitted Ganga River Basin Action Plan and if so, the action taken/proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard; and

(e) whether it is true that as per the report of 2024, the State Government of Bihar has found that the Ganges water is not safe for bathing or even for irrigating crops and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) The year-wise details of the amount released by the Government of India to the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and amount disbursed by NMCG to various agencies for implementation of projects/ interventions to rejuvenate river Ganga and its tributaries under the Namami Gange program, in the last five years (FY 2019-20 to FY 2023-24) is enclosed in Annexure-I.

(b) The  National  Ganga  Council  and  Empowered  Task  Force  have  been  constituted  as  per  NMCG Authority Notification No. S.O. 3187(E) dated 07th October 2016 and 2 meetings of National Ganga Council & 11 meetings of Empowered Task Force  have been convened.

(c) As  per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) report, three polluted river stretches (Priority IV/V) on River Ganga have been identified based on the assessment carried out in 2022 (2019 & 2021 data),

(d) Yes, Sir. Seven IIT consortium submitted Ganga River Basin Action Plan (GRBMP) in September 2024. Based on the report, Government of India (GoI) launched the Namami Gange Programme (NGP) in 2014-15 for the rejuvenation of river Ganga and its tributaries with a budgetary outlay of ₹ 20,000 crore, for five years, up to March 2021 and has been further extended to March 2026 with a budgetary outlay  of  ₹  22,500  crore.  Under  the  Namami  Gange  Programme,  a  diverse  and  holistic  set  of interventions for cleaning and rejuvenation of river Ganga have been taken up that includes wastewater treatment,  solid  waste  management,  riverfront  management  (ghats  and  crematoria),  ensuring  e  flow, rural  sanitation,  afforestation,  biodiversity  conservation  and  public  participation  etc.  The  details  of project-wise  actions  taken  are  enclosed  in Annexure-II .  Till  June  2024,  a  total  of  467  projects  have been taken up at an estimated cost of  ₹ 39,080.70 crore, out of which 292 projects have already been completed and made operational.

(e) As per the reports of State Government of Bihar, Ganges water meets bathing standards of pH, DO and  BOD.  Further,  as  per  the  reports  of  State  Government  of  Bihar,  Ganges  water  meets  irrigation standards for various parameters. As per CPCB report 2022, the polluted river stretch on river Ganga in the State of Bihar along Buxar, Patna, Fatwah and Bhagalpur was in Priority Class - IV which as per 2023 CPCB data has improved to Bhagalpur downstream-Priority Class-V.

***

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2956 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 08.08.2024 REGARDING 'NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME'.

The details of fund released by Govt. of India to NMCG and Disbursement/Release by NMCG (₹. in crore)

| F.Y.    | Funds released by Government of India to NMCG   | Disbursement/Release byNMCG   |
|---------|-------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| 2019-20 | 1,553.40                                        | 2,673.09                      |
| 2020-21 | 1,300.00                                        | 1,339.97                      |
| 2021-22 | 1,900.00                                        | 1,892.70                      |
| 2022-23 | 2,220.00                                        | 2,258.98                      |
| 2023-24 | 2,400.00                                        | 2,396.10                      |
| Total   | 9,373.40                                        | 10,560.84                     |

(* Utilization reported up to 30 June 2024)

## ANNEXURE-II

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2956 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 08.08.2024 REGARDING 'NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME'.

The action taken by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under NGP to make the Ganga and its tributaries pollution-free with sustainable cleanliness are as follows:

- i. A total of 200 number of sewerage infrastructure projects costing  ₹32,070 crore have been taken  up  for  the  creation  &  rehabilitation  of  Sewage  Treatment  Plant  (STP)  with  treatment capacity  of  6,217.15  Million  Litres  per  Day  (MLD)  including  laying  of  5,282.39  km  long sewerage networks. Of them, 120 STPs with a capacity of 3,241.55 MLD have been completed along with 4,527.48 km long sewerage network;
- ii. For industrial  pollution  abatement, 5  nos.  of  Common  Effluent  Treatment  Plants  (CETPs) have been sanctioned, 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).  Two  projects, Mathura CETP (6.25 MLD) and Jajmau CETP (20 MLD), have been completed;
- iii. Annual inspection of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) operating in Ganga main-stem States and its tributaries have been undertaken since 2017. These efforts have resulted in reduction in BOD load from 26  tonnes  per  day  (TPD)  in  2017  to  13.73  TPD  in  2022,  and  about  28.6  % reduction in effluent discharge from 349 MLD in 2017 to 249.31 MLD in 2022;
- iv. At  NMCG,  an  on-line  dashboard 'PRAYAG ' has been  operationalized for  continuous monitoring of river water quality; the performance of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs); etc. on the Ganga and Yamuna River;
- v. A total nos. of 139 District Ganga Committees (DGC) have been constituted, which conducts 4M (Monthly, Mandated, Minuted, and Monitored) meetings regularly. As of June, 2024, more than 3,032 meetings have been conducted;
- vi. In  coordination  with  the  selected  DGCs, District  Ganga  Plans for  4  districts  in  Ramganga Basin,  i.e.,  Udham  Singh  Nagar  in  Uttarakhand;  &  Shahjahanpur,  Moradabad  and  Bareilly  in Uttar  Pradesh,  have  been  prepared  to  foster  decentralized  planning  and  better  participation  of people in river basin management;
- vii. For  the conservation  of  wetlands ,  4  projects  have  been  sanctioned  in  the  States  of  Uttar Pradesh, Bihar & Jharkhand at a cost of ₹12.53 crore;
- viii. NMCG, through the State Forest Department, has implemented a forestry intervention project along  the  main  stem  of  river  Ganga.  31,494  hectares  area  have  been  afforested  with  an expenditure of about ₹ 347 crore;
- ix. A total of 105 lakhs of Indian Major Carp (IMC) fingerlings have been ranched in the Ganga since  2017  to  conserve  fish  biodiversity  and  prey  base  for  river  Dolphins,  and  ensure  the

livelihood of fishers in the Ganga basin under the special project implemented by Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI);

- x. Science-based species  restoration  programme ,  rescue,  and  rehabilitation  programme  for aquatic  species  like  Dolphins,  Otters,  Hilsa,  Turtles,  and  Ghariyal  in  collaboration  with  Wild Life  Institute  of  India  (WII),  Dehradun  and  State  Forest  Department,  have  shown  marked improvements in biodiversity  with increased sightings of  Dolphins, Otters, Hilsa, Turtles,  and other riverine species;
- xi. Ganga Task Force (GTF) was raised in the state of Uttar Pradesh to assist NMCG in carrying out its mandated tasks, such as (a) Plantation of trees to check soil erosion; (b) Management of Public  Awareness  /  Participation  campaigns;  (c)  Patrolling  of  Sensitive  Rivers  Areas  for Biodiversity protection; (d) Patrolling of Ghats, etc.
- xii. A cadre of Ganga Doots (45,000 nos.), Ganga Praharis (2,900 nos.) and Ganga Mitra (700 nos.) are involved in public participatory activities ;
- xiii. 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 defecation-free ( ODF ).  Further till date, 3,679 no's of Ganga villages have been declared ODF sustainability ( ODF Plus ).
- xiv. Comprehensive public awareness campaigns have undertaken to instill a sense of responsibility and  engagement  among  the  public  in  efforts  to  clean  and  conserve  the  Ganga  River.  These include -  Ganga Utsav,  NadiUtsav, regular cleanathons and plantation drives, Ghat Par Yoga, Ganga Aartis, etc. The efforts are also supported by dedicated cadres of Ganga saviours, such as Ganga Praharis, Ganga VicharManch, Ganga Doots, etc.

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