Namami gange by mndp poonia pdf

A Presentation By : Mandeep MSc. (Env. Scs.)

Namami Gange - Saving the Ganga

• The Clean Ganga project is officially known as the Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission project or 'Namami Gange'.

• This is basically a dream project of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• Before he became the PM of India, Modi had been a staunch advocate of cleaning up the river Ganga. He promised that if he were voted to power he would start the project right away. True to his word, he got the said project started within a few months of becoming the new PM.

Namami Gange Programme

• Accordingly, an Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission called “Namami Gange” is started and a sum of Rs. 2,037 crores has been set aside for this purpose in budget of 2014-15.

• Accordingly, Namami Gange approaches Ganga Restoration by consolidating the existing ongoing efforts and planning for a concrete action plan for future

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• In addition a sum of Rs. 100 crores has been allocated for developments of Ghats and beautification of River Fronts at

1. Kedarnath, 2. Haridwar, 3. Kanpur, 4. Varanasi, 5. Allahabad, 6. Patna and 7. Delhi in the current financial year.

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• Recognizing the multi-sectoral, multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder nature of the Ganga Rejuvenation challenge, the key Ministries comprising of :

(a) WR, RD&GR,

(b) Environment, Forests & Climate Change, (c) Shipping,

(d) Tourism,

(e) Urban Development,

(f) Drinking Water and Sanitation and Rural Development

have been working together since June, 2014 to arrive at an action plan.

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• The concerned Ministers have nominated a Group of Secretaries to develop a draft action plan

• The Group of Secretaries submitted its initial report on 21st July, 2014 and after taking into account the feedback received from the Hon’ble Ministers, the final report has been submitted on 28th August, 2014.

• While the report is being examined in the Ministry, NMCG has been working in parallel on a draft strategy taking into account all these developments. Continue…..

• On a medium term basis, certain interventions both infrastructure and non-infrastructure need to be introduced to implement the long term vision as taking it as “no regret” activities.

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Tasks taken up under Namami Gange:

(i) ensuring sustainable municipal sewage management

• Project priority is coordination with Ministry of Urban Development.

• Incentive for states to take up projects on Ganga Main-stem by providing an additional share of central grants for sewerage infrastructure.

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• Uniform standards for both MoUD scheme and Namami Gange programme

• Expanding coverage of sewerage infrastructure in 118 urban habitations on banks of Ganga

• (ii managing sewage from Rural Areas • Mo DWS scheme for all Ganga bank Gram Panchayts (1632) free from open defecation by 2022, at a cost of Rs 1700 Crores as central share (iii) managing Industrial discharge • Making ZLD mandatory • Rationalized water tariff to encourage reuse • Real time water quality monitoring

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(iv)

• Enforcing River Regulatory Zones on Ganga Banks

• Rational agricultural practices, efficient irrigation methods

• Restoration and conservation of wetlands

(v) Ensuring ecological rejuvenation by conservation of aquatic life and biodiversity

(vi) Promotion of Tourism and Shipping in a rational and sustainable manner

(vii) Knowledge Management on Ganga through Ganga Knowledge Centre

However, to control the spread of pollution and to contain it in manageable limits certain interventions would be necessary in short term. Group of Secretaries under guidance of Hon’ble Ministers has identified following activities:

i) Scheme for rehabilitation and up-gradation of existing STPs along Ganga

ii) Ensuring 100% sewerage infrastructure in identified town alongside Ganga

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iii) In situ sewage treatment in open drains

iv) Support for preparation of DPRs(Detailed Project Reports)

v) River Front Management for Ghat’s developments in selected cities and towns

vi) Industrial pollution control at Kanpur on priority continue…..

vii) Action Plan for Char Dham Yatra –Public amenities, waste disposal and sanitation

viii) Capacity building of urban local bodies

ix) Afforestation – Conservation of Flora

x) Conservation of Aquatic life – special attention on Dolphin, Turtles and Ghariyals etc.

xi) Disposal of flowers and other puja material

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xii) Ganga Vahini(ex-serviceman & NGOs to monitor and protect at special places) xiii) GIS data and Spatial Analysis for Ganga basin xiv) Study of communities depending on Ganga for their traditional livelihood xv) National Ganga Monitoring Centre xvi) Special guidelines for sand mining in Ganga xvii) Assessment of Special Properties of Ganga Water xviii) Communication and Public Outreach Activities

Ganga Manthan

• Ganga Manthan was organized on 7th of July, 2014 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

• It was a national level consultation to facilitate interaction with various stakeholders including policy makers and implementers, academicians, environmentalists, saints and spiritual leaders from all faiths and NGOs for the cause of Ganga Rejuvenation.

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• The event began with an Inaugural session with addresses by Sushri Uma Bharati, Hon’ble Minister of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation; Shri Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Rural development, Drinking water supply & sanitation; and, Shri Shripad Naik, Hon’ble Minister of Tourism and Culture.

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• Inaugural session was followed by sanits session where spiritual leaders of different religious beliefs came together on one platform to guide and share the viewpoints on the challenges and solutions for rejuvenation of river Ganga.

• After this session there were four parallel sessions for which the participants were divided into 4 groups: . Group A: Saints and Spiritual Leaders Group B: NGOs and Environmentalists Group C: Technocrats and Academicians Group D: Public Representatives, Administrators and NGOs

• The total number of participants in this event is approximately 500 with group wise representation

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• During the group discussions, problems related to river Ganga were discussed and recommendations were provided by 4 streams of the society

• All the participants derived at a common decision that River Ganga should be ‘nirmal’ and ‘aviral’.

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• Address by ministers showed the commitment of the government to undertake this task.

• Ganga Manthan marked the beginning of people movement where people from different spheres came on one platform to discuss their concerns and provide the recommendations to bring river Ganga to its original glory.

The aims and objectives of NMCG is to accomplish the mandate of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) of

1.

To ensure effective abatement of pollution and rejuvenation of the river Ganga by adopting a river basin approach to promote inter-sectoral

co-ordination for comprehensive planning and management .

2.

To maintain minimum ecological flows in the

river Ganga with the aim of ensuring water quality

and environmentally sustainable development.

The Vision for Ganga Rejuvenation constitutes restoring the wholesomeness of the river defined in terms of ensuring

“Aviral Dhara” (Continuous Flow”),

“Nirmal Dhara”(“Unpolluted Flow”),

Geologic and ecological integrity.

Functions of NMCG To achieve the objectives, NMCG shall carry out the following key functions namely: • (i) Implement the work programme of National

Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA).

• (ii) Implement the World Bank supported National Ganga River Basin Project.

• (iii) Coordinate and oversee the implementation of projects sanctioned by Government of India under NGRBA.

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(iv) Undertake any additional work or functions as may be assigned by MoWR,RD &GJ in the area of conservation of river Ganga. (v) Make rules and regulations for the conduct of the affairs of the NMCG and add or amend, vary or rescind them from time to time. (vi) Accept or to provide any grant of money, loan securities or property of any kind and to undertake and accept the management of any endowment trust, fund or donation not inconsistent with the objectives of NMCG. (vii) Take all such action and to enter all such actions as may appear necessary or incidental for the achievements of the objectives of the NGRBA.

• River Ganga has significant economic, environmental and cultural value in India.

• Rising in the Himalayas and flowing to the Bay of Bengal, the river traverses a course of more than 2,500 km through the plains of north and eastern India.

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• The Ganga basin – which also extends into parts of Nepal, China and Bangladesh – accounts for 26 per cent of India’s landmass, 30 per cent of its water resources and more than 40 per cent of its population.

• The Ganga also serves as one of India’s holiest rivers whose cultural and spiritual significance transcends the boundaries of the basin.

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• A river basin with the complexity of the Ganga cannot be managed from an environmental view point without the benefit of an adequate knowledge base, analytical tools, targeted research, and awareness building.

• Ganga Knowledge Centre (GKC) is set up at National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) primarily to address these issues and to enhance the quality of implementation of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) program.

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• GKC is conceptualized as a premiere and autonomous knowledge based institution which will blend system characterization, innovation and stakeholder participation so as to optimize the investments of NGRBA.

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Major Objectives of GKC

• Create and manage knowledge resources including analysis and modeling of diverse data sets relevant to Ganga River Basin.

• Design and foster research innovation through identification of knowledge gaps, need for new ideas and supporting targeted research. Continue………

• Facilitate stakeholder dialogue through public involvement and building partnerships with universities/institutions of national & international repute, public & private entities and NGOs. GKC will be one of its kinds of institution which will generate the state of art scientific and technical knowledge even while reflecting constantly on traditional and local knowledge but still remain focused on relevant issues and stay connected to the stakeholders.

• The immediate outcome of the efforts of GKC would be: • Knowledge & Knowledge based products including publications, online and multimedia products, virtual data bases and E library. • Customized query management tools. • Analysis of the proposed investments using the knowledge base and modeling tools. • Sharing the development vision across agencies. • Technical support to the social outreach and community participation activities. • Training and capacity building at all levels.

Major Policy Initiatives Under NGRBA 1. Tripartite Memorandum of Agreement (MoA). 2. Independent Appraisal of Details Project Reports(DPRs). 3. Third Part Inspections. 4. City Level Monitoring Committees. 5. Revised Guidelines for Preparation of Details Project Reports(DPRs). 6. Dolphin Conservation.

7. Streamlining of Review and Monitoring mechanism in States.

8. Involvement of NGRBA experts.

9. Public Outreach and Awareness, Involvement of youth.

10. Ganga Knowledge Centre.

11. Water Quality Monitoring with focus on Real time, Online assessment.

12. Ganga River Basin Management Plan(GRBMP)

Sanctioned Projects

• National Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA) has so far sanctioned a total 83 projects in 49 towns in Ganga States

• The costing is Rs.5918.56 crore under NGRBA Program including Externally Aided Projects(EAP) with the assistance of Japan International Agency(JICA) and the World Bank of Rs.4387.31 crore.

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These include projects of

• Rs 2256.01 crore in Uttar Pradesh,

• of Rs 1702.06 crore in Bihar,

• of Rs 99.36 crore in Jharkhand,

• of Rs 1352.51 crore in West Bengal and

• of Rs 251.21 crore in Uttarakhand for laying of sewage networks, treatment plants, development of river fronts, etc.

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• These sanctioned projects also include three CPCB projects worth Rs 198.48 crore on Pollution Inventorization, Assessment and Surveillance (PIAS) on river Ganga Strengthening of Environmental Regulator (SER)-CPCB and a project of setting up the Ganga Knowledge Centre (GKC) in NMCG (Rs.48.54 crore)

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• Educating Schools and Communities for conserving habitant of Ganga River Dolphin of (Rs.1.28 crore) and Preparation of DPR of "Forestry intervention for Ganga" Non-EAP(Rs. 0.96 crore)

• A Expenditure of an amount of Rs.1148.56 crore (as on 31st March 2015) has been done by both Centre and the States for implementation of the sanctioned projects.

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• Phase-1: Annual Dolphin Census & Threat Assessment (EAP)(Rs. 0.73 crore)

• Phase-2: Rolling out Dolphin Conservation in UP (EAP) (Rs. 2.42 crore)

• Assessment of Water Quality and Sediment Analysis to understand the special property of river Ganga (Non-EAP)(Rs. 5.00 crore).

• External funding The Central Government has approved the projects for ‘World Bank’ assistance to National Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA) for abatement of pollution of river Ganga’ at an estimated cost of Rs.7000 crore.

• The Bank will support the Government of India by providing technical assistance and financing of US $ 1 billion (approx. 4600 crore).

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• The World Bank Board has approved this project on 31st May 2011.

• The Loan agreement with World Bank has been signed on 14th June 2011.

• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is supporting one project on Ganga in Varanasi worth Rs. 496.9 Crore on 85:15 basis.

• Funding Mechanism The investments required to create the necessary treatment and sewerage infrastructure would be shared between Centre and State Governments on 70:30 basis.

• The State Governments would be required to motivate ULBs for resource recovery and revenue generation.

• Also, the cost of Operations and Maintenence(O&M)for the initial five years in NGRBA projects would be shared between Centre and States in the ratio of 70:30 with a periodical review.

Ganga River Basin Management Plan

• A comprehensive River Basin Management Plan for Ganga is being prepared by the group of seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)

• Kanpur,

• Delhi,

• Madras,

• Bombay,

• Kharagpur,

• Guwahati

• and Roorkee. Continue….

• The Plan is being prepared with the objectives of taking comprehensive measures for restoration of the wholesomeness of the Ganga ecosystem and improvement of its ecological health, with due regard to the issue of competing water uses in the river basin.

• The wholesomeness of the river can be grasped in terms of four defining concepts: “Aviral Dhara” (Continuous Flow”), “Nirmal Dhara”(“Unpolluted Flow”), Geologic Entity, and Ecological Entity.

Function and Power of NGRBA • National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) has started the

Mission Clean Ganga with a changed and comprehensive approach to champion the challenges posed to Ganga through four different sectors, namely,

• wastewater management,

• solid waste management,

• industrial pollution and

• river front development. continue….

• The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation(MoWR, RD & GR) is the nodal Ministry for the NGRBA.

• The authority is chaired by the Prime Minister and has as its members the Union Ministers concerned, the Chief Ministers of the States through which Ganga flows, viz., Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, among others.

• This initiative is expected to rejuvenate the collective efforts of the Centre and the States for cleaning the river.

NGRBA functions include

• Development of a Ganga River Basin Management Plan.

• Regulation of activities aimed at prevention, control and abatement of pollution, to maintain water quality and to take measures relevant to the river ecology in the Ganga basin states.

• It is mandated to ensure the maintenance of minimum ecological flows in the river Ganga and abate pollution through planning, financing and execution of programmes including that of – 1) Augmentation of Sewerage Infrastructure 2) Catchment Area Treatment 3) Protection of Flood Plains 4) Creating Public Awareness

• NGRBA has been mandated as a planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating authority for strengthening the collective efforts of the Central and State governments for effective abatement of pollution and conservation of river Ganga so as to ensure that by the year 2020 no untreated municipal sewage or industrial effluent will flow into the river Ganga.

• The NGRBA is fully operational and is also supported by the state level State Ganga River Conservation Authorities (SGRCAs) in five Ganga basin States which are chaired by the Chief Ministers of the respective States.

• Under NGRBA programme, projects worth Rs. 4607.82 crore have been sanctioned up to 31st March 2014.

Powers & Functions • NGRBA has the power, combined with regulatory and

developmental functions, to take all such measures and discharge functions. Such measures include following matters, namely:- a) Development of river basin management plan and regulation of activities aimed at prevention, control and abatement of pollution in the river Ganga to maintain its water quality, and to take such other measures relevant to river ecology and management in the Ganga Basin States. b) Maintenance of minimum ecological flows in the river Ganga with the aim of ensuring water quality and environmentally sustainable development.

c) Collection, analysis and dissemination of information relating to environmental pollution in the river Ganga.

d) Investigations and research regarding problems of environmental pollution and conservation of the river Ganga. e) Promotion of water conservation practices including recycling and reuse, rain water harvesting, and decentralised sewage treatment systems.

f) Monitoring and review of the implementation of various programmes or activities

g) Issuing directions under section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 (29 of 1986) for the purpose of exercising and performing all or any of the above functions .

h) The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 for the purpose of exercising and performing these functions and for achievement of its objectives.

NGRBA Meeting • Meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority

a) First Meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority held on 05.10.2009. b) Second Meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority held on 01.11.2010. c) Third Meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority held on 17.04.2012. d) Fourth Meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority held on 27.10.2014. e) Fifth Meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority held on 26.03.2015.

• Standing Committee Meeting

a) First Meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Ganga River Basin Authority held on 29.12.2010. b) Meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Ganga River Basin Authority held on 08.02.2012.

• Review Meeting

a) Review Meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority held on 04.02.2011.

• The Ganges River basins support more than 10% of the world’s human population.

• The concentration of human activities coupled with the poor economic status of these communities has resulted in a steady degradation of the Ganges with industrial, agricultural, and domestic pollution and the modification of flow regimes by dams, barrages, and embankments.

• The resulting threats to the aquatic biodiversity populations include

-interrupted movements and environmental degradation; -habitat degradation from gravel mining; and

-pollution from human sewage and persistent chemicals and trace metals.

• Ravine ecosystems are areas of continuous change.

• As a result of

a) interplay of environmental factors,

b) the development paradigm of that time,

c) the lack of resources to enforce the laws,

d) the ignorance about the degree of harmful effects of some of the activities

led to the ecological parameters to deteriorate further.

Therefore, it is imperative to keep a close eye on the habitat parameters and take corrective steps as and when required.

• The ultimate goal of the Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation is to achieve the NMCG (National Mission for Clean Ganga) long term vision for Ganga River Conservation, in which viable populations of all endemic and endangered aquatic species occupy their full historical range and fulfill their role in maintaining the integrity of the Ganga River ecosystems.

• The proximate goal is to ensure that by 2020, a significant reduction of threats to the biodiversity populations of River Ganga that are either currently endangered, or are likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future, is achieved.

• In determining whether NMCG should concentrate on a few individual species or encompass the entire biodiversity of Ganga, then conservation of few identified endemic and endangered species course is chosen.

• Successful resolutions for the conservation of one population can often be applied to others.

FISH:: Snow trout (Schizothorax richardsonii), Golden Mahseer (Tor putitora), Indian Major Carps (IMC): Four species (Labeo rohita, L. calbasu, Catla catla, Cirrhinus mrigala). REPTILES: Gharial and Gangetic Turtle species MAMMAL: River Dolphins and Otters BIRDS: Indian Skimmer and Saras

Turtle Species Fish Species

Gharial Smooth Coated Otter

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by Mr. Modi, approved the flagship programme which integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner.

• “The programme has a budget outlay of Rs. 20,000 crore for the next five years,” -a significant increase over the expenditure in the past 30 years”.

• The Centre has incurred an overall expenditure of approximately Rs. 4,000 crore for Ganga rejuvenation since 1985.

• In order to push the efforts for the Ganga’s clean-up, the statement said that the Centre will now take over 100 per cent funding of various activities/projects under this programme.

• Marking a major shift in implementation, the government is focusing on involving people living on the banks of the river to attain sustainable results.

• Drawing from past lessons, the programme also focuses on involving the states and grassroots-level institutions such as Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions for its implementation.

• The programme would be implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and its state counterpart organisations, that is, the State Programme Management Groups (SPMGs).

• NMCG will also establish field offices wherever necessary • In order to improve implementation, a three-tier

mechanism has been proposed for monitoring projects, 1. comprising a high-level task force chaired by the Cabinet

Secretary and assisted by NMCG at the national level, 2. state-level committees chaired by Chief Secretary and

assisted by SPMG and 3. district-level committees chaired by the District

Magistrate. • In view of the unsatisfactory results of the earlier Ganga

Action Plans, the Centre now plans to provide for operation and maintenance of the assets for at least a 10-year period

• In an attempt to implement policies, the Centre also plans to establish a four battalion-strong Ganga Eco-Task Force, a Territorial Army unit.

• It is also contemplating legislation for checking pollution and protecting the river

• Namami Gange Programme stresses on improved coordination mechanisms between the various Ministries/Agencies of the central and state governments.

• Major infrastructure investments, which fall under the original mandate of other ministries, like

I. Urban Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation,

II. Environment Forests and Climate Change (EF&CC), will also additionally be undertaken.

• Namami Gange will focus on pollution abatement interventions, namely

interception and diversion and treatment of waste water flowing through open drains via

bio-remediation/

appropriate in-situ treatment/

use of innovative technologies/

sewage treatment plants (STPs)/

effluent treatment plant (ETPs).

• It also aims at rehabilitation and augmentation of existing STPs and immediate short-term measures for arresting pollution at exit points on river front to prevent inflow of sewage.

• Significantly, the approach is underpinned by socio-economic benefits that the programme is expected to deliver in terms of job creation, improved livelihoods and health benefits to the vast population that is dependent on the river.

• FOCUSSED Ganga, Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar, Mahananda, Chambal, Beehar, Khan, Shipra, Betwa, Ramganga and Mandakini have been moved to a new Ministry NRCP.

• NRCP had 42 rivers and 195 towns in 20 states under it.

• Namami Gange is 100% centrally funded. The intention is to “ramp up progress” of the Ganga clean-up mission.

• 47 TOWNS, 12 RIVERS Covered under the project in 8 states.

• Dept of Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation proposes to make 1,632 gram panchayats by the Ganga open defecation-free by 2022, at a cost of Rs 1,700 cr (central share).

• Several ministries such as Environment, Shipping, Urban Development, Tourism, Rural Development have been working with the nodal Water Resources Ministry to undertake projects.

• PEOPLE-CENTRED

According to the government, a major change in implementation from earlier efforts will lie in the focus on involving people living on the river’s banks. States and grassroots institutions such as Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions will be involved by implementing agency National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and its state counterparts, State Programme Management Groups (SPMGs)

• POLLUTION FOCUS Pollution abatement interventions:

• Interception, diversion, treatment of waste water in drains through bio-remediation/ in-situ treatment/use of innovative technologies/sewage treatment plants/effluent treatment plants;

• immediate measures to arrest inflow of sewage; PPP/SPV approach for pollution hotspots;

• 4-battalion Territorial Army Ganga Eco-Task Force;

• possible new laws

Alarming levels of pollution:

• A river is considered polluted when the Bio-Chemical Oxygen Demand (BoD) level rises above 2mg/l.

• A recent Central Pollution Control Board report says about 2,300 km of Namami Gange rivers are polluted, including 550 km of Ganga, 667 km of Yamuna, 250 km of Gomti.

• Some 12,363 km of India’s 275 prominent rivers (including Namami Gange rivers) are polluted

• WHAT ABOUT OTHER RIVERS? Rs 1,500 cr were provisioned for NRCP in the 12th Plan, but only Rs 388.38 cr were provided in the first three years.

• For 2015-16, projected requirement for rivers other than Ganga and its tributaries was Rs 295 cr; only Rs 40 cr have been provided.

• Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has been seeking funds unsuccessfully for a pollution control project for the Mula-Mutha in Maharashtra.

• A Rs 444 cr project for the Sabarmati was sanctioned last year, but no money has been released yet.

• HISTORY OF UNDERACHIEVING Ganga Action Plan Ph I & II: Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi launched Phase I in 1985, covering 25 Ganga towns in three states; Rs 862.59 crore were spent.

• Phase II covered 59 towns in five states; Rs 505.31 cr were spent. Rivers such as Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar, Mahananda had separate action plans. No results were visible.

• UPA government’s NGRBA effort: The lack of tangible results from earlier efforts prompted the setting up of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) by Manmohan Singh’s government, focused on a basin-specific approach. 43 towns were covered in five states; Rs 1,027 crore were spent until March 31, 2015.

• Intensive river surface cleaning is set to begin at ten identified cities along the banks of Ganga backed with a Bhuvan Ganga mobile application.

• This ISRO-backed India specific GIS tool will ensure real-time and public monitoring of river surface pollution on ground situations.

• The government invite global tenders for river surface cleaning at ten chosen cities — Haridwar, Varanasi, Allahabad, Kanpur, Mathura & Vrindavan, Garhmukteshwar, Patna, Kolkata, Sahibgunj and Nabadwip.

• The idea is to have floating debris collected and cleaned off the Ganga river surface to ensure people can see and feel a visible difference in the cleanliness levels of the river waters.

• A complete work package including river surface cleaning, ghat cleaning and drain-river confluence for ten priority locations is being prepared by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).

• River surface cleaning boats, trash skimmer machines and trash booms will be pushed into service at all these ten cities to arrest floating material and tackle river surface pollution.

• Aerators will be taken into action at river ghats to keep the gathering moss away — steps identified as those that will also convince the masses that the Ganga cleaning project is taking off in a real and visible manner.

• The ministry has also written to the Central Pollution Control Board to install real-time monitors at 118 locations on Ganga where a nallah meets the river (drain-river confluence) to ensure that the cleaning is actually taking place and water quality is maintained. 10 of these have already been started on pilot basis.

• That apart, the government is set to launch a Bhuvan Ganga app whereby real-time images of the Ganga can be captured by the public through smartphones and uploaded right away to check for any river surface pollution.

• Once the image is uploaded and received by the central database, the contractors in charge of the surface cleaning at that particular location will be held accountable in case of laxity.

• The Rs 20,000-crore Namami Gange project that was approved by the Union Cabinet specially focussed on 'strengthening public participation' and improved inter-ministerial and centre-state coordination for the cleaning of the Ganga.

• Part of the public participation element will be the Ganga Volunteer Corps –

• Another soon-to-be launched initiative to channelise public volunteer services for cleaning of ghats and generating awareness.

• The Nirmal Ganga Bhagidaari project will see NGOs being involved in Ganga cleaning.

• The primary thrust of the Namami Gange project is pollution abatement and building sewerage infrastructure with special focus on the critical Kanpur to Varanasi stretch.

• Restoring the “nirmal aur aviral dhara” (clear and flowing stream) of “Ma Ganga” was a top priority for Narendra Modi when he was sworn in as the Prime Minister on May 26, 2014.

• It was also one of the major election promises made by Modi to the ancient riverside city of Varanasi, which elected him to Parliament. A flagship programme—Namami Gange—was launched the same month the Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government was sworn in

• A separate ministry under the Union water resources ministry was created for the river rejuvenation programme and the Union Cabinet has approved a budget outlay of Rs 20,000 crore for it over the next five years.

• This is 10 times what was allocated in previous cleaning programmes—Ganga Action Plan phase I and II.

• The 2015-16 budget also declared a 100 per cent tax exemption for those contributing to the clean Ganga project.

• But despite the new programme and huge funds, the NDA government faces criticism for doing nothing constructive on ground.

Pre- Namami Gange Namami Gange

•Ganga Action Plan (GAP)-I launched in 1986. • Plan involved pollution abatement measures in 25 class I towns in three states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. •GAP I was completed in 2000. •GAP II was approved in phases, from 1993 to 1996. •For reducing pollution load on the river, treatment of four major tributaries of the Ganga—Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar and Mahananda—was also taken up. •Under GAP-II, to treat the main stem of the Ganga, pollution abatement measures were taken up in 59 towns in five states—Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. •The National Ganga Basin River Authority (NGBRA) was launched in 2009 due to failure of GAP I and II. NGBRA has basin-specific approach.

•An integrated programme. Involves different ministries--water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, environment and forest, shipping, tourism, urban development, drinking water and sanitation and rural development Talks for the first time about involving people living on the banks of the river, urban local bodies and panchayati raj institutions • Plan includes establishing a Ganga Eco-Task Force, a Territorial Army unit and roll out of legislation to check pollution and protect the river Cleaning programme to be implemented jointly by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), which is the implementation wing of NGRBA, and State Program Management Groups (SPMGs) Talks about strengthening monitoring system through committees at national, state and district levels

Can Namami Gange succeed where other programmes failed?

1. Programme features

Funding pattern

•In the early 1990, the fund sharing for the projects was 50:50 between Central and respective state governments. • In 1997, it was decided that the Central government will pay 100 per cent of the funds. • The arrangement did not last long. In 2001, the cost sharing formula became 70: 30, wherein 30 per cent funds were to be arranged by states; local bodies were expected to contribute one-third of the 30 per cent share of the state

Central government will fund 100 per cent expenses for various activities and projects

Operation and maintenance (O&M)

•The Centre planned to build projects through public-private participation (PPP) route, which required the concessionaire to design-build-operate sewage treatment plants (STPs) for five years. • The Centre was to take over O&M for five years and then hand it over to the respective state. • Failed due to the poor financial capacity of the local bodies in cities along the Ganga

Centre to take care of the assets for a minimum 10 year period, and adopt a PPP/SPV approach for pollution hotspots. After this assets, will be handed over to state

Money sanctioned

•GAP I: Sanctioned amount Rs. 462 crore. •GAP II: The total approved cost of the action plan is Rs 1,498.86 crore. •NGBRA: The amount sanctioned under NGBRA till March 2014 is Rs 4,974.79 crores.

•Total outlay budget of Rs. 20,000 crore for five years Part allocations of this had already been made in 2014-15 and 2015-16 budgets. • Previous allocations: Interim budget of 2014-15 : Rs 2,037 crores for cleaning Ganga and Rs 100 crore for ghat development and beautification of the river front at Kedarnath, Haridwar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad, Patna and Delhi. • Over and above this, Rs 4,200 crore sanctioned for for Jal Marg Vikas project for Ganga in Uttar Pradesh (this is not under National Mission for Clean Ganga’s purview). •Budget of 2015-16: Rs. 4,173 crore jointly for water resources and Namami Gange programme.

Projects

Total wastewater treatment capacity of 1,208.50 MLD was created (STP – 1,188.50 MLD, CETP – 20 MLD) has been created under GAP and NGRBA till June, 2014

1.No such construction Only 2 projects cleared140 MLD Dinapur STP at Varanasi (sanctioned cost is Rs 496 crore). Work is going at site 2.Rs 700 crore project at Patna for constructing STPs and sewerage network. A present, tendering process is on. 3.Series of projects recommended by Empowered Steering Committee – needs approvalRiverfront development, Chandighat, Hardwar 4.40 MLD Jagjitpur STP 5.50 MLD Rammanah STP at Varanasi 6.Rehabilitation and upgradation of 182 MLD Rithala Phase I, Delhi 7.Rehabilitation and upgradation of three phases of Kondli STP (204 MLD), Delhi

Expenditure

GAP I and II: Rs 986.34 crore NGBRA programme: Rs 910.57 crore Total: Rs 1,897 crore

2014-15: Projects in pipeline Very little spent on implementation

Tardy implementation

• NDA government’s much-hyped Ganga cleaning programme shows no implementation on ground.

• The only projects that have been taken up are: ghat cleaning in Varanasi and creation of bio-toilets during Magh mela in Allahabad.

• Only two projects were cleared last year. Out of these, work has started at only one STP site.

• A large amount of money has been spent on just holding meetings and discussions.

• According to sources, a reply to an RTI filed to request for details about expenditure on Ganga cleaning showed that around Rs 44 lakh had been spent only on meetings till November 2014.

• STPs with total installed capacity of 90 MLD awaiting approval.

Namami Gange Mission: Old wine in a new bottle?

• So far, crores of rupees have been pumped in to clean the Ganga, but in vain. Will the NDA’s plan be any different

• Ganga Maa keeps getting dirtier each year.

• Sisamau nala (drain), puts over 120 million litres per day (MLD) of untreated sewage into the Ganga.

• The clean-up of Sisamau, the largest open drain in Kanpur, is one of the objectives of the Namami Gange or Clean Ganga Mission

• The mission, a poll promise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the centre, has managed to revive interest in yet another project to clean up the Ganga.

The 2,525km-long Ganga winds through Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand.

Along with its tributaries, it covers 11 states that are home to 600 million of India’s 1.2 billion population.

The river has various places of religious and industrial importance along its banks.

According to a report by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2013, over 2,700 MLD of sewage is discharged into the river.

Today, Kanpur, an industrial town, contributes 600 MLD of untreated sewage to the river.

On 13 May, the centre cleared a

plan to clean and develop the river

and allocated

Rs.20,000 crore for the project

over the next five years. This isn’t

the first such plan.

In 1986, the Congress

government led by then

prime minister Rajiv Gandhi launched the first phase of

the Ganga Action Plan

(GAP).

The second phase, which included the tributaries,

was launched in 1993, under

another Congress

government.

In 2009, the National

Ganga River Basin

Authority (NGRBA) was

constituted by the Congress-

led United Progressive

Alliance (UPA) government.

The Namami Gange mission was launched to address the shortcomings of GAP.

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has been given the task of implementation by the NGRBA.

The centre also renamed the water resources ministry as the ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, tasking it with leading the effort to rejuvenate the river.

One focus of the mission is to treat wastewater flowing through drains into the river and the use of innovative technology and immediate short-term measures to arrest pollution at exit points on the riverfront.

Which is why Kanpur, especially Sisamau nala, represents an important front in the battle.

Untreated sewage

“Sewage, solid waste and tanneries are the main problems (that contribute to the pollution of the Ganga) in Kanpur,” said A.S. Gaur, project manager, Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam.

He added that projects under the mission will be developed under NGRBA and AMRUT (Atal Mission for Renewal and Urban Transformation).

Some of these were originally envisaged as part of the UPA government’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, which has been supplanted by AMRUT.

“Sewage treatment plants will be able to treat 80-90% of the waste. Rs.2,500 crore worth of short-term projects have been proposed in Kanpur so

far,” said Gaur.

Currently, the city, whose population is expected to rise to 3.4 million in 2020, has two sewage treatment plants

(STPs) to treat domestic waste and a 36 MLD common effluent treatment plant (CETP) to treat 9 MLD of industrial waste and 27 MLD of domestic waste.

Another CETP with a capacity of 17 MLD is in the works to exclusively treat waste from tanneries.

Jajmau, a suburb of Kanpur situated on the banks of the river, has the

largest concentration of tanneries in the city.

These leather processors have been criticized for their large consumption of water and discharge. On average, one hide requires 700 litres of water

to process.

“In Kanpur, there are 23,400 registered industries. Of these, 400 are tanneries, 10,000 are non-polluting industries.

If we remove these, we are left with 13,000 industries. Where does their water go?

These include pulp factories, dyeing industries.

The chemicals used by the textile industry and tanneries are almost the same.

1985 order of the Supreme Court asking all tanneries to install

primary treatment plants.

The truth is that the day they fix the problem of tanneries, they will not know why the

river is getting dirty.

Officials say tanneries are the worst pollutants. “Twenty-five MLD of waste that comes from tanneries is equivalent to 400 MLD of domestic waste; it is that hazardous,” said Gaur. “We are not planning to move them, but instead build a special treatment plant for them.”

“Another benefit of the project is that it includes 100% sanitation as well. Since it is now a part of the mission, at least sanitation has become a part of the priority list of the government. This has even started in a few panchayats,” he said.

NGOs are hoping that the new mission works.

They claim it has already increased

awareness.

Namami Gange has made people aware of the problem, and also

works across the central government and state

governments, and across urban and rural

government bodies.

States versus centre

That could well be the mission’s toughest challenge, according to an official in the water resources ministry.

“A majority of the states through which the Ganga flows have governments led by opposition parties.

The scheme is now 100% centrally funded, but is still implemented by local authorities.

This is a major hindrance in the implementation of the mission.

Of the five states through which the river flows, the BJP is in power only in

Jharkhand.

State officials, for their part, criticize the central government for lack of support.

The cost to set up a treatment plant is approximately Rs.7 crore per MLD.

Kanpur alone will require approximately Rs.5,000-6,000 crore.

“There has been no

policy change (in

the programme to clean the

Ganga).

Just the name has

been changed.

The system is the same.

They say 100%

central funding, but when asked for money,

they ask the state and

industry to contribute.

They are saying

something and doing something

else

कें द्र सरकार की महत्वाकाांक्षी योजना ”नमामम गांगे’ की रफ्तार का आलम यह है कक सरकार वततमान ववत्त वर्त 2015-16 की प्रथम

ततमाही में इस पर एक भी रुपये खर्त नहीां कर पाई है। यह खुलासा आरटीआई के तहत माांगी गई एक जानकारी से हुआ है।

ववत्त वर्त 2014-15 में भारत सरकार ने गांगा नदी की साफ -सफाई से

सांबांधित ‘नमामी गांगे’ योजना पर कुल 324 करोड़ 88 लाख रुपये खर्त ककए थे। इसमें से 90 करोड़ रुपये गैर सहायततत पररयोजनाओां पर

और 324 करोड़ 88 लाख रुपये सहायततत पररयोजनाओां पर खरे् गए।

सरकार ने ववत्त वर्त 2015-16 की पहली ततमाही में गांगा साफ-सफाई पर एक पैसा भी नहीां खर्ात है।

ववत्त वर्त 2014-15 में गांगा साफ -सफाई पर दो बैठकें ददनाांक 27 अक्टूबर, 2014 और

26 मार्त, 2015 को हुइर ां थीां, जबकक ववत्त वर्त 2015-16 में गांगा साफ -सफाई पर अब

तक कोई बैठक नहीां हुई है।

वपछले साल जुलाई में अपने पहले बजट में नरेंद्र मोदी ने नमामम गांगे योजना को 6300

करोड़ से अधिक का बजट आवांदटत करने की बात कही थी। गांगा नदी की सफाई और

सांरक्षण के मलए वपछले तीन दशकों में खर्त ककए गए िन में र्ार गुना बढोतरी करते हुए

अगले पाांर् सालों के मलए 20,000 करोड़ रुपये के बजट को मांजूरी दी गई थी।

• Prime minister Narendra Modi led NDA government has now decided to use satellites for monitoring and controlling the pollution in polluted Ganga River

• "Satellite monitoring would be done by Isro.

• Through satellites, we would be able to monitor untreated waste falling into river or any other source polluting river.

• "Ganga over 2,000 kilometers long and therefore it is not possible to monitor every part of physically.

Satellites to now monitor Ganga

pollution

Clean Ganga Project: Supreme Court Dissatisfied

"You are unable to tell us your vision stage-wise on cleaning the holy river Ganga and

your ultimate aim," the Supreme Court said

It suggested that the project needs "an expert with a vision" like E Sreedharan, the

man who built India's metros“

This case is pending here in court for the last 29 years...nothing concrete has been done. We don't want to wait for another 29 years...we also understand it can't be done overnight...but you should have an expert who has a vision like Sreedharan," the court said.

The judges observed that if the discharge of industrial pollutants into the river was stopped, 30 per cent of the Ganga would be clean.

But pollution boards in the states the Ganga flows through were not stopping this, they said, because of deep-rooted corruption.

"The pollution control board has to stop industries polluting the Ganga. Those supposed to prevent pollution are not doing their work”

It directed the CPCB to explain what action it had taken against 215 industries situated along the Ganga, who have been charged with polluting the river.

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar, who appeared for the Centre, accepted that corruption was a huge hurdle but said the government is committed to cleaning the river. The Supreme Court is hearing a public interest litigation on the cleaning of the Ganga in 1985

Stop polluting Ganga or shut shop: Uma Bharti

• Using the analogy of a delivery procedure where a mother's life may be at stake, the minister said she would ideally like both the mother (Ganga) and child (industry) to survive.

• But, if she has to choose between the two, she would choose "Ma" (mother Ganga), she said.

"If the child (industry) would suck mother's (Ganga) blood, she would prefer the mother to survive", said Bharti.

While claiming she was running out of patience, the minister refrained from using harsh words at a time when industries are voluntarily turning up to hold consultations for finding a solution.

SC says it'll take 200 years to clean Ganga at this rate

Supreme Court which said it seems that steps taken so far will not lead to cleaning of the country's holiest

river even after 200 years.

The court directed the Centre to come out with a "stage-wise plan" to clean the river for "restoring it to its pristine glory". "The dream project is there. Please try that the next generation is able to see the river in

its original form.

River Ganga will be free from most of its pollution within three years

• August 21, 2014: The Union water resources Uma Bharti said the river would be free from most of its pollution within three years

• Announcing the year 2015-16 as "water conservation year", she appealed to every section of the society to join this movement.

• A public movement will launched throughout the country for this purpose and at least one official of the Union Water Resources Ministry will be present in every district of the country during this period", said the minister.

SC asks Centre to give roadmap for cleaningGanga

Reminding the Narendra Modi government that cleaning of Ganga was on its poll manifesto, the Supreme Court asked why urgent

steps are not being taken on it and come up with a road map for making the 2500 km long river pollution free.

A bench headed by Justice T S Thakur said the issue of cleaning Ganga is very important and it has to be put on the front burner. "Are you saving

river Ganga? It was also there in your manifesto. Why don't you act on it?

The unchecked pollution of river Ganga has evoked sharp criticism by the apex court which has been hearing the case since 1985.

The 2,500 km stretch of the river passes through 29 major cities, 23 small cities and 48 towns.

The ambitious 'Ganga Action Plan' to clean the river was launched by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.

• July 15, 2014: Directions have been issued to about 48 industrial units polluting River Ganga to close down

• The Ministry of Environment & Forests has identified 764 grossly polluting industries discharging 501 million litres per day of waste water into Ganga and its major tributaries

Govt asks 48

industrial units

polluting River

Ganga to close down

Namami Gange project gets Rs2,037 crore in Union Budget

Ganga clean up project gets Rs2,037 crore in Union Budget.

In the Union Budget, the finance minister Arun Jaitley also announced a project to promote inland/waterways on the Ganga.

Namami Gange project to be set up with an outlay of Rs.2,037 crore for the current year.

Jaitley also announced a project to promote inland waterways on the Ganga. Called "Jal Marg Vikas" (National Waterways-I),

It will be developed between Allahabad and Haldia, covering a distance of 1,620km completed over a period of six years at an estimated cost of

Rs.4,200 crore.

Ganga river is more polluted now before the Ganga Action Plan was launched

• The Ganga river is more polluted now than what it was in 1985, when the Ganga Action Plan was launched, and the construction of dams, barrages, canals continuously pose a threat to it“

• The entire Ganga issue has been made a political issue and political parties, both at state level and at the centre, are doing politics in the sake of cleaning up the Ganga river to gain the votes of the communities concerned for the river,"

• The governments formed committee to find out ways to protect the river, the governments not take interest in implementing the committee's recommendations.

• The country's key pollution watchdog - Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) - which in its report noted that nearly 37,000 million liters per day (MLD) of 'untreated' sewage water flows into rivers across the country.

• The wide gap between sewage generation (57,000 MLD) and treatment capacity (20,358 MLD) kept polluting water resources - be it river water or groundwater.

37,000 million litres of sewage flows into

rivers daily

Model cremation ghats on the banks of river

Ganga

Model cremation ghats on the banks of river Ganga and promoting eco friendly methods of cremation for safe disposal of dead bodies have been given priority in the action plan drawn under Namami Gange programme.

An expert committee has also been formed for evaluation of new technologies including technology

options for innovative / improvised wood based crematorium.

Drains choking Ganga

long drains and subsidiaries carrying industrial and urban

waste of dangerous level while directly falling into the 1,300-km long stretch of the Ganga

are choking the holy river

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Namami Ganga'

project, aimed at reviving the river, would remain a non-starter if the root causes of

rising pollution are not addressed and innovative

methods not deployed, states a report prepared by the UP's

irrigation department

Among the rivers merging into the Ganga, Ram Ganga, Kali Nadi Poorva, Kali Nadi Pashchim, Hindon, Gomti, Sai and Yamuna have a very high level of biological oxygen demand.

The report states that unless the root causes of the pollution in the Ganga are not addressed, beautification of the riverfront in Varanasi will not help

"You cant treat the lung cancer by going to a dentist,"

• The Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission project called "Namami Gange" was launched with an initial sum of Rs. 2,037 crore allocated in the Union Budget 2014-15,

• Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had stated that a significant amount of money had been spent in improving the condition of the river as well as conserving the same

• The Ministry Involved in Project Ganga : Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation

Why Clean Ganga Project started

• Supreme Court had asked the Indian Government when the Clean Ganga project be completed.

• In its reply to the apex judicial body of the country, the national administration had answered that the process shall take at least 18 years to be completed.

When it will be completed

This is not an unusual target considering the length and breadth of the river in question - it almost covers almost the entire part of northern India and stretches from Uttarakhand in northwest to West Bengal in eastern India.

Estimated Project Duration 18 years

Project Cost ₹ 2037 crore

Project Start Date July 2014

Area covered in the project

• There are five states in India that fall in the course of river Ganga - Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar.

• Besides, it touches parts of Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, and Delhi through its tributaries.

Implementation of the project

• The Namami Gange project will be implemented in several stages.

• While the exact details are not known yet, one understands that it will involve activities such as cleaning up the tributaries to start with.

• The authorities will also be supposed to manage the cities through which the river is flowing so that the industrial units in these cities do not dump their effluents and wastes over there.

Development of tourism will also be an important part of this project because

it shall help meet the expenses towards the upkeep of the project.

The authorities may also look to develop a channel that runs from

Allahabad till Haldia in West Bengal that shall help in navigation.

Major issues for the project

• To start with, the major problem for the Namami Gange project is going to be the sheer size of

• 2500 km

and passes through

• 29 big cities

• 48 towns

• 23 similar cities

• In addition to that, the immense levels of pollution in the river

• dumping of industrial sewage and waste

• garbage by common people have left the river in a bad condition.

• One of the major controversies surrounding the Clean Ganga project has been the difference of opinion among the members of the panel that has been constituted for ruuning it.

• The committee had been set up during July 2014 with secretaries from various departments.

Controversy surrounding the project

One of the major issues surrounding the project has been getting back flood-land for the gradually increasing population of these areas.

There is also difference of opinion regarding

importance of inland waterways.

Ganga still waiting for Modi's Midas touch: Supreme Court slams Centre for slow progress

on cleaning holy river

• While filing his nomination as a BJP candidate from Varanasi for the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he had not entered the holy city of his own volition, but rather Maa Ganga (Mother Ganga) had called him there.

• Subsequently, he had also promised to clean the holy river. But the ground reality is very different.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government first came in for criticism from the Supreme Court over its slow progress in Modi’s ambitious Clean Ganga mission

Various schemes and fund utilisation, under the National Ganga Plan, are static

lack of separate allocations for schemes.

Under the Clean Ganga project, funds to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore which were allocated for the National Ganga Plan in the last budget have not yet been utilised

The only expenditure under the project in 2014-15 was under the Yamuna Action Plan. A total of Rs 4.36 crore was spent from the Rs 8 crore allocated for the scheme.

Approvals undoubtedly reflected the casual manner

The budgetary provisions for the National River Conservation Plan, the National Ganga River Basin Authority and the National Ganga Plan had been increased, the panel said:

“We feel the government is yet to take the first step towards the enormous task of cleaning and rejuvenating Ganga.

Interestingly, the panel observed that there was a difference between the expenditure predicted by the ministry and that quoted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) consortium, which was entrusted to prepare Ganga River Basin Management Plan.

In its reply, the government had said a consortium of IITs was preparing a road map for the project.

The Centre also proposed the setting up of 80 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) which, in a day, would process 368 million litres of water flowing into the river in the five river basin states.

The prime minister, in many high-level meetings, had emphasised the need for a time bound, swift and single-minded focus to clean the river Ganga.

The Narendra Modi-led government has divided the Ganga Rejuvenation Plan into pollution control, Ganga basin management and beautification of ghats and river fronts.

Cleaning the Ganga is in the priority list of the government and the budget allocation to the project clearly showed their intent.

What steps have been taken so far by the Modi government for the cleaning of River Ganga? Has any actual ground work started yet for the same?

1. "Namami Gange"project Modi government announced a Rs 6,300-plus crore 'Namami Gange' scheme.

• While Rs 2037 crore will go into rejuvenating the river,

• another Rs 4200 crore will be spent on developing a navigation corridor in the next six years.

• Then there is a Rs 100 crore project dedicated to ghat development and watierfront beautification.

• The government also announced a 'NRI Ganga fund' to help drive fund collection, the money from which will be spent on 'special projects'.

2. "HARIYALI" a plantation project is being started along the stretch of river Ganga in all five states through which it flows i.e Uttrakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar , Jharkhand and West Bengal.

The plantation will be montered every six months and a video recording will be sent to the party's headquater every time for verification.

3. Narender Modi has created a special ministry for cleaning the river Ganga and senior leader Uma Bharti has been given the responsibility of it.

• Pollution in Ganga Ganga was ranked as second-most polluted river in the world in 2013 after Citarum river of Indonesia.

• A report of international journal Nature claimed that pollution level in the river was about 3000 times of the safe limit prescribed for human use by World Health Organisation (WHO).

• Earlier in 2007, Ganga was ranked as the fifth most polluted river of the world.

• This pollution have an impact on about 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganga river dolphins.

• Government Efforts towards cleaning Ganga In order to clean Ganga which is revered by Indians, the Union Government had launched the Phase-I of the ambitious Ganga Action Plan in 1985 when Rajeev Gandhi was the Prime Minister. The phase-I got completed in March 2000. In 1993, Phase-II of the programme was approved. Phase-II included tributaries of the river Ganga namely, Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar and Mahananda and is currently under implementation.

• In April 2011, Union Government approved a project under the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) with World Bank assistance. The project was approved at an estimated cost of 7000 crore rupees. The principal objective of the NGRBA was to fund creation of pollution abatement infrastructure for conservation and restoration of water quality of the river.

On 10 July 2014, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his maiden Union Budget 2014-15 announced to launch Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission NAMAMI GANGE at an outlay of 2037 crore rupees and to set up NRI Fund for Ganga.

• India’s most worshipped river, the Ganga, continues to be the fifth most polluted river in the world, despite a 29-year-old clean-up plan

• “The Ganga today is more polluted than when the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was launched,”

Ganga to be one of the cleanest river by oct. 2018 : Uma Bharti(nov.17,2015)

‘if u think we have stopped taking steps towards clean ganga, it is not so. Before any big race , a sprinter stops a bit , assesses the destination and then sprints towards it. So our destination is oct 2018 when we will show it to world that ganga is one of the cleanest river of world” Bharti said.

She is speaking at water innovation summit 2015 organized by Confederation of Indian Industry(CII) at Triveni water institute (Jaipur) which is associated with different industries in conducting a detailed water management study operational from feb-2008.

She said for first time interlinking of rivers will takes place, pointing to linking of Ken-Betwa rivers, which will involve two big states UP & MP.

She also mention about the central plan of linking Damanganga-Pinjal and Par-Tapi-Narmada river linking projects soon with Maharastra and Gujarat govt.

• The pollution of Ganga is happening despite government spending thousands of crores of rupees since 1985.

• A clean Ganga will not happen unless the government brings in a change in the mind-set of people living along the river.

• In addition, it would have to ban use of chemicals in agriculture; make throwing garbage into the river an offence, satellite based monitoring for polluting industries and not allowing any more dams on the river.

• Many environmentalists believe it is an impossible task as it would require huge public investment.

Information collected from :

NMCG website

Different newspaper coverings

images from Google images etc