Under Namami Gange Programme, a comprehensive set of interventions such as wastewater treatment, solid waste management, river front management (ghats and crematoria development), e-flow, afforestation, biodiversity conservation and Public Participation etc. have been taken up for rejuvenation of river Ganga and its tributaries. So far, a total of 406 projects have been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs.32,897.83 Crore.
Namami Gange Programme was launched in June 2014 for a period up to 31st March, 2021. A total of Rs.13,624.86 crore were provided for the programme in the Budgets for FY: 2014-15 to 2020-21, out of which Rs.10,217.02 crore were released to the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). The programme was subsequently extended up to 31st March, 2026. Rs.4,700 crore have been provided for the programme in the Budgets for FY: 2021-22 and 2022-23 (BE).
There is no State-wise allocation. However, the amount released/expended by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to States for implementation of projects, compiled State-wise, from 2014-15 up to 31st October, 2022, is as under:
|
State
|
Amt. (Rs. in crore)
|
|
Uttarakhand
|
1,117.34
|
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
4,205.41
|
|
Bihar
|
3,516.63
|
|
Jharkhand
|
250.005
|
|
West Bengal
|
1,320.39
|
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
9.89
|
|
Delhi
|
1,253.86
|
|
Haryana
|
89.61
|
|
Rajasthan
|
71.25
|
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
3.75
|
Under Namami Gange Programme, a total of 406 projects have been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs.32,897.83 crore. Out of these 224 projects have been completed while remaining are at different stages of implementation. Cleaning of river is a continuous process and Government of India is supplementing the efforts of the State Government in addressing the challenges of pollution in river Ganga and its tributaries by providing financial and technical assistance under Namami Gange Programme. The projects have now taken their pace and efforts are now being made to complete the projects by their scheduled completion timeline.
The impediments faced during implementation of the Project include delays in obtaining permissions for road cutting, railways/NH crossings, land procurement, forest clearances, change of sites and abnormal floods etc.
Under the Namami Gange Programme, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is carrying out studies for water quality assessment of the River Ganga at 97 locations in 5 main stem States through the respective State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs). River water quality is assessed for primary water quality criteria notified for outdoor bathing. As per designated best use water quality criteria for drinking water specified by CPCB, river water can be used for drinking purpose only after appropriate treatment.
Based on the water quality assessment by CPCB in 5 Ganga main stem states in 2022(January to September), the observed water quality indicates that median 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 entire stretch of river Ganga. The median value of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) has been found within the acceptable limits except marginal exceedance (BOD: 3.3 to 4.7 mg/L) in locations/stretches viz. stretch from (i) Kannauj U/s to Kala Kankar, Rai Bareilly & D/s Mirzapur to Tarighat, Ghazipur (except U/s Varanasi, Assighat) in Uttar Pradesh and (ii) at Shitalatala, Palta in West Bengal.
Further, as a result of multi sectoral interventions, as per comparison of median data of water quality parameters viz., DO and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Faecal Coliforms (FC) of year 2014 and 2022 (January to September); DO (Median) has improved at 33 locations, BOD (Median) has improved at 40 locations and FC (Median) has improved 28 locations, respectively.
The audit of Annual Accounts of NMCG is carried-out by the office of Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG). The audit of Annual Accounts for FY 2021-22 was undertaken by the office of C&AG during 08 August 2022 to 26 August 2022. The Audit Report on Annual Accounts of NMCG for FY 2021-22 was received from the office of C&AG on 25.10.2022.
This Information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
************
AS