National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) programme

Published on 06 Apr 2025

The programme aims to provide effective pollution abatement and regeneration of the river Ganga, utilizing a river basin strategy to encourage inter-sectoral coordination for comprehensive planning and management.

Salient features of the Programme

• Main Objective: To maintain minimum ecological flows in the river Ganga with the aim of ensuring water quality and environmentally sustainable development.

• Organization Structure: The Act outlines a five-tier system for national, state, and district governments to use in order to prevent, control, and mitigate environmental pollution in the Ganga River:

• National Ganga Council under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister of India.

• Empowered Task Force (ETF) on river Ganga under the chairmanship of Union Minister of Jal Shakti (Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation).

• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

• State Ganga Committees

• District Ganga Committees in every specified district abutting river Ganga and its tributaries in the states.

• Funding Mechanism: The Namami Gange Program was introduced by the Centre in 2014 with a total budgeted expenditure of Rs. 20,000 crores.

The key achievements under Namami Gange programme

• Creating Sewerage Treatment Capacity: 48 sewage management projects are under implementation and 99 sewage projects have been completed in the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

• River Surface Cleaning: River Surface cleaning for collection of floating solid waste from the surface of the Ghats and River and its disposal are afoot and pushed into service at 11 locations.

• Bio-Diversity Conservation: High biodiversity areas are identified in river Ganga for focused conservation action, rehabilitation centers are established for the rescued aquatic biodiversity, cadre of volunteers (Ganga Praharis) have been developed.

• Industrial Effluent Monitoring: The Grossly Polluting Industries are inspected on an annual basis for compliance verification of the pollution norms and process modification, wherever required through third party technical institutes.

• Ganga Gram: Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation identified 1674 Gram Panchayats situated on the bank of River Ganga in 5 State for construction of toilets.

• Public Awareness: A series of activities such as events, workshops, seminars, conferences and numerous IEC activities were organized to make a strong pitch for public outreach and community participation in the programme.

Challenges faced by National Mission for Clean Ganga

• Inadequate Sewerage Coverage: Since a large majority of India's urban population lives outside of sewerage networks, a significant amount of waste does not reach Sewage Treatment Plants.

• Land Acquisition: The commissioning of some plants was delayed due to issues with land acquisition.

• Lack of Local Initiatives: Planning and decision-making procedures that do not fully incorporate local communities, businesses, and other stakeholders compromise the efficacy and long-term viability of NMCG initiatives.

• Municipal Solid Waste Management: Lack of enough infrastructure for waste treatment causes untreated waste to enter the river in many of the towns and communities along it.

• Inter-State Coordination: The Ganga River basin includes several states, but lack of coordination and cooperation among state governments results in differing priorities and negatively impacting efficacy of the project.

Way Forward

• Strengthening Institutional Capacity: Enhance the NMCG's and its implementing agencies' institutional capacity to efficiently design, implement, and oversee clean Ganga programs.

• Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs): Promote public-private partnerships for financing, implementing, and maintaining clean Ganga initiatives.

• Integrated Approach: Adopt an integrated strategy that includes community involvement, afforestation, watershed development, river basin management, and pollution control measures.

• Research and Innovation: Encourage the transfer of technology, innovation, and research in fields like water treatment, river basin management, pollution monitoring, and environmentally friendly activities.

• International Collaboration: Encourage partnership with international organizations, research institutes, and funding agencies to gain access to best practices, technical expertise, and financial support for Ganga clean-up activities.

Tags:
Environment

Keywords:
Ganga NMCG Water policy Conservation Rivers Namami Ganga

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 3

Topics:
Environment and Climate Change