Lok Sabha Question No. 2404 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-13
Subject: Namami Gange Project
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Smt. Geniben Nagaji Thakor, Smt. Lovely Anand, Smt. Mala Roy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2404

ANSWERED ON 13.03.2025

## NAMAMI GANGE PROJECT

2404.

SMT. MALA ROY

## SMT. LOVELY ANAND

SMT. GENIBEN NAGAJI THAKOR

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

- (a) the progress made so far under the Namami Gange Project;
- (b) whether the Ganga river has been completely cleaned under the said Project, if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the details of the funds allocated and utilised under the said Project during the last ten years, State and year-wise;
- (d)  the  steps  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  stop  the  inflow  of  industrial  waste  in  the  Ganga river; and
- (e) whether the similar projects are likely to be implemented for cleaning other rivers in the country and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

## ( SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY )

(a) & (b) Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has carried out water quality monitoring of river Ganga. As per the report, the Polluted River Stretches (PRSs) on river Ganga based on the assessment carried out in 2022 (2019 & 2021 data), are as under:

- a. Uttarakhand does not fall under polluted stretch (BOD <3mg/l);
- b. In  Uttar  Pradesh,  Farrukhabad  to  Allahabad  &  Mirzapur  to  Ghazipur  in  -  Priority  Class  V (BOD 3-6 mg/l);
- c. In Bihar, along Buxar, Patna, Fatwah and Bhagalpur - Priority Class IV (BOD 6-10 mg/l);
- d. Jharkhand does not fall under polluted stretch (BOD <3mg/l);
- e. In West Bengal, Behrampur to Haldia - Priority Class IV (BOD 6-10 mg/l).

Further, the 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 the entire stretch of the river Ganga.

Central  Pollution  Control  Board  (CPCB)  has  carried  out  water  quality  monitoring  of  river Ganga.   As  per  the  CPCB  report,  the  polluted  stretches  restored  in  2023  as  compared  to  2018,  are  (a) Haridwar  to  Sultanpur  in  Uttarakhand;  (b)  After  confluence  (A/c)  river  Pandu,  Deomai,  Fatehpur  to

Dalmau, Raebareili in  Uttar  Pradesh  (UP)  (c)  Kadaghat,  Kaushambi  to  Dheemi,  Pratapgarh  in  UP;  (d) Prayagraj,  Rasoolabad  Up-stream  (U/s)  to  Vindhyachal  in  UP  (e)  U/s  Varanasi  to  Down-stream  D/s Varanasi  in  UP  (f)  Buxar  to  Bhagalpur  in  Bihar  and  (g)  Khagra  Behrampore  to  Serampore  in  West Bengal.

(c) Under  Namami  Gange  Programme,  as  of  January  2025,  a  total  of  492  projects  have  been sanctioned at an estimated cost of ₹ 40,121.48 Crore, out of which 307 projects have been completed and made  operational.  The  sanctioning  space  includes  current  expenditure  as  well  as  future  commitment (annuity  payment/  Operation  &  Maintenance  (O&M)  expenses)  for  pollution  abatement  infra  with  life cycle of 17 years (2 years construction phase & 15 years O&M phase).

For  current  expenditure,  Government  of  India  has  released  ₹  19,538.62  crore  to  the  National Mission for Clean (NMCG)  from 2014-15 to till 03 March 2025 in current financial year as budgetary support  for  various  interventions  and  NMCG  has  disbursed  ₹  18,700.15  crore  to  various  agencies  for implementation  of  projects/  interventions  to  rejuvenate  river  Ganga  and  its  tributaries.   The  year  wise details for the projects is enclosed at Annexure.

(d) NMCG till date has sanctioned 3 industrial projects of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) i.e. Jajmau CETP (20 MLD), Banther CETP (4.5 MLD), and Mathura CETP (6.25 MLD). Out of these, Mathura CETP (6.5 MLD) and Jajmau CETP (20 MLD) projects has been completed.

Further, to monitor the industries' pollution, annual inspection of Grossly Polluting Industries) GPIs started in 2017. In the seventh round of inspection, 4246 Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) have been inventoried in the 7th round of inspection. All the GPIs have been inspected. So far, out of 4,000 GPIs on which  action  has  been  completed,  2682  GPIs  are  compliant,  517  are  non-compliant,  523  GPIs  are temporarily closed, and 278 GPIs are permanently closed. Among the non-compliant (517 GPIs), 26 GPIs have been issued notice for closure and 491 GPIs have been issued show cause notice.

These efforts have 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.

(e) Cleaning/rejuvenation of rivers is an ongoing activity. It is the primary responsibility of States/Union Territories  (UTs)  and  Urban  Local  Bodies  to  ensure  the  required  treatment  of  sewage  and  industrial effluents  to  the  prescribed  norms  before  discharging  into  the  rivers  and  other  water  bodies.  The Government  of  India  has  been  supplementing  efforts  of  the  States/UTs  by  providing  financial  and technical  assistance  for  abatement  of  pollution  in  rivers/tributaries  in  Ganga  basin  through  the  Central Sector  Scheme  of  Namami  Gange  Program,  and  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  National  River Conservation Plan for other rivers.

***

## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (c) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  2404 TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 13.03.2025 REGARDING 'NAMAMI GANGE PROJECT'.

Year-wise details of the amount released by the Government of India to NMCG and amount disbursed by NMCG to various implementing/ executing agencies under Namami Gange Programme (FY 2014-15 to till 03 March 2025)

Rs. in crore

| Programe              | F.Y.          | Funds released by Government of India toNMCG   | Disbursement/Release byNMCG   |
|-----------------------|---------------|------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|
| Namami Gange Phase-I  | 2014-15       | 326.00                                         | 170.99                        |
| Namami Gange Phase-I  | 2015-16       | 1,632.00                                       | 602.30                        |
| Namami Gange Phase-I  | 2016-17       | 1,675.00                                       | 1,062.81                      |
| Namami Gange Phase-I  | 2017-18       | 1,423.12                                       | 1,625.01                      |
| Namami Gange Phase-I  | 2018-19       | 2,307.50                                       | 2,626.54                      |
| Namami Gange Phase-I  | 2019-20       | 1,553.40                                       | 2,673.09                      |
| Namami Gange Phase-I  | 2020-21       | 1,300.00                                       | 1,339.97                      |
| Namami Gange Phase-I  | Sub-Total (A) | 10,217.02                                      | 10,100.71                     |
| Namami Gange Phase-II | 2021-22       | 1,900.00                                       | 1,892.70                      |
| Namami Gange Phase-II | 2022-23       | 2,220.00                                       | 2,258.98                      |
| Namami Gange Phase-II | 2023-24       | 2,400.00                                       | 2,396.10                      |
| Namami Gange Phase-II | 2024-25       | 2,801.60                                       | 2,051.66*                     |
| Namami Gange Phase-II | Sub-Total (B) | 9,321.60                                       | 8,599.44                      |
| Namami Gange Phase-II | Total (A+B)   | 19,538.62                                      | 18,700.15                     |

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