Lok Sabha Question No. 6332 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-04-02
Subject: Progress made under Namami Gange Programme
Ministry: JAL SHAKTI
Asked by: Prof. Sougata Ray

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6332

ANSWERED ON 02.04.2026

## PROGRESS MADE UNDER NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME

6332. Prof. SOUGATA RAY:

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:

(a) the measures being taken by the Government to control pollution in major rivers of the country;

- (b) the progress made under the Namami Gange Programme for cleaning the Ganga River; and

(c) the manner in which the Government is addressing industrial waste discharge into rivers?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI

(SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY)

(a) The Government of India has been supplementing efforts of the States/UTs by providing financial and technical assistance for the abatement of pollution in rivers/tributaries in the Ganga basin through the Central Sector Scheme of Namami Gange Programme (NGP), and the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for other rivers.

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.  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, riverfront management,  ensuring eflow, rural sanitation, afforestation, biodiversity conservation, public participation. As of February, 2026, a total of 524 projects have been sanctioned at a cost of ₹ 43,030 crores, out of which 355 projects have been completed.

NRCP is taking up various pollution abatement works relating to interception & diversion of raw sewage, construction of sewerage systems, setting up of sewage treatment plants, low-cost sanitation, river front/bathing ghat development, etc for the rivers of the country except rivers part of Ganga Basin. So  far,  NRCP  has  covered  58  rivers  in  100  towns  spread  over  17  States  in  the  country  at  a  total sanctioned cost of Rs. 8,970.51 crores, and sewage treatment capacity of 3,019 million litres per day (MLD) has been created.

The various measures under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) are as follows;

1. A total of 218 sewerage infrastructure projects costing₹ 35,794 crores have been taken up for the remediation of polluted river areas with a treatment capacity of 6,610 Million Liters per Day (MLD). 138 STP projects with a capacity of 4,050 MLD have been completed and made operational.
2. 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.
3. NMCG successfully  implemented  the minimum e-flow norms  notified  in  October  2018, ensuring  continuous  environmental  flow  in  the  river  Ganga.  Regular  compliance  is  being effectively monitored by the Central Water Commission (CWC).
4. Biodiversity Conservation : Seven Biodiversity Parks in seven districts (Mirzapur, Bulandshahar, Hapur,  Budaun, Ayodhya, Bijnore and Pratapgarh) of Uttar Pradesh and 5 priority wetlands in Uttar Pradesh (3), Bihar (1) and Jharkhand (1) have been sanctioned.
5. NMCG,  through  the  State  Forest  Department,  has  implemented  a forestry  intervention project along the main stem of river Ganga. 33,024 hectares area have been afforested with an expenditure of about ₹ 414 crores.
6. A  total  of  203  lakhs  of  Indian  Major  Carp  (IMC)  fingerlings  have  been  ranched  in  the Ganga  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).
7. India's first Dolphin Rescue Ambulance was developed and inaugurated on 13th January, 2026 by the Hon'ble Minister at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, enabling safe rescue and translocation; 8 Gangetic dolphins were rescued and released.
8. A citizen-led Soons-Saathi network (100 volunteers across 250 km), 160 trained personnel, 2,000 sensitised community members, and 15 Dolphin Clubs strengthened early reporting and conservation outreach.
9. Gharial  Conservation :  Gharial  assessments  across  22  rivers  recorded  3,037  individuals, with habitat models indicating only 5.6% highly suitable habitat, underscoring the need for flow regulation and habitat protection.
10. Threatened turtle species including 15 (10 radio tagged) captive hatched Chitra indica, 60 Hardellathurjii  (10  radio  tagged)  and  20  Batagurkachuga  (all  radio  tagged)  re-wilded  in Yamuna, Sarju and Ganga rivers, respectively with robust monitoring protocol . Dispersal and survival maps ready.

11. Total 387 vulnerable nest (8257 eggs) of endangered Batagur turtle species were protected in  Chambal through two riverside hatcheries. This ensured safe return of 7979 hatchlings back into the river, marking an overall hatching success of 96.7%.
12. Technology-driven conservation was advanced through the institutionalization of SMARTbased riverine patrolling across 210 km of the Chambal River in Uttar Pradesh.
13. ' Ganga Knowledge Portal ' is a pioneering initiative developed in-house by the National Mission for Clean Ganga, serving as a centralized repository for comprehensive resources on water resource management. This platform is engineered to facilitate access for students, research  scholars,  stakeholders,  and  the  general  public  to  a  vast  array  of  materials  (1346 documents), including journals, publications, books, technical articles, research reports; data sets  (District  River  Maps,  STP  performance  and  river  atlas)  and  coffee  table  books.  By concentrating on the intricacies of water resource challenges, Ganga Knowledge portal aims to enhance awareness and foster informed decision-making in this critical sector;
14. A  total  no.  of  139 District  Ganga  Committees (DGCs)  have  been  constituted  which conducts  4M  (Monthly,  Mandated,  Minuted,  and  Monitored)  meetings  regularly.  As  of January 2026, more than 5,118 meetings have been conducted;
15. 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.;
16. Comprehensive  public  awareness  campaigns  have  been  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, Nadi Utsav, 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 Vichar Manch, etc.
7. (b) Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), carries out manual water quality monitoring of the river Ganga at 112 locations across five Ganga main-stem States- Uttarakhand-19; Uttar Pradesh-41; Bihar33;  Jharkhand-04;  and  West  Bengal-15.  As  per  CPCB  report  on  Polluted  River  Stretch  (PRS)  2025 following information about Ganga main stem pollution is available:

Ganga Main Stem - State-wise Comparison (2018 vs 2025)

| State       | 2018 Polluted Stretch   | Priority (2018)   | 2025 Stretch   | Polluted Priority (2025)   | Trend/Observation                |
|-------------|-------------------------|-------------------|----------------|----------------------------|----------------------------------|
| Uttarakhand | Haridwar → Sultanpur    | IV                | No PRS         | -                          | Improved and PRS stretch removed |

| Uttar Pradesh   | Kannauj→ Varanasi         | IV   | Bijnor →Tarighat             | IV / V   | Partially improved         |
|-----------------|---------------------------|------|------------------------------|----------|----------------------------|
| Bihar           | Buxar to Bhagalpur        | V    | Bhagalpur D/S→ Khalgaon D/S  | V        | Marginal pollution remains |
| Jharkhand       | No PRS                    | -    | No PRS                       | -        | -                          |
| West Bengal     | Triveni → Diamond Harbour | III  | Baharampore→ Diamond Harbour | V        | improved                   |

Based on the water quality data (median values) of the river Ganga for the year 2025 (January to August), the following observations are made.

- (i) pH & Dissolved Oxygen (DO) are the most critical parameters of river health. The pH & DO of River Ganga meet the required norms for bathing criteria at all the locations of River Ganga.
- (ii) Water  quality  of  river  Ganga  is  conforming  with  the  bathing  criteria  w.r.t.  Bio-  chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) in the entire stretch of river Ganga in Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Bihar & West Bengal, except the following locations/stretches:
-  Farrukhabad to Purana Rajapur, Kanpur.
-  Dalmau, Raebareli.
-  D/s  Mirzapur  to  Tarighat,  Ghazipur  (except  two  locations  namely  U/s  Varanasi,  After confluence Gomti & U/s Ghazipur) in Uttar Pradesh.

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 macro-invertebrate species indicates the ecological potential of the rivers to sustain aquatic life.

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.

- (c) Under  NGP,  for  industrial  pollution  abatement , 3  nos.  of  Common  Effluent  Treatment  Plants (CETPs) have been sanctioned, i.e., Jajmau CETP (20 MLD), Banther CETP (4.5 MLD), and Mathura CETP (6.25 MLD). Two projects, Mathura CETP (6.25 MLD) and Jajmau CETP (20 MLD), have been completed.   Further,  the Annual  inspection  of  Grossly  Polluting  Industries  (GPIs)  started  in  2017. These efforts have resulted in a reduction in BOD load from 26 tons per day (TPD) in 2017 to 10.75 TPD in 2024, and about 23.9 % reduction in effluent discharge from 349 MLD in 2017 to 265.56 MLD in 2024.

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