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.

The budgetary allocation [Revised/Final Estimates (RE)] for the Namami Gange Programme from financial year (FY) 2014-15 to FY 2024-25 was ₹ 23,424.86 crore. The Budget Estimates (BE) for FY 2025-26 are ₹ 3,400 crore. Thus, the total budgetary allocation for the Namami Gange Programme since inception up to FY 2025-26 is ₹ 26,824.86 crore.

 Cleaning of river is a continuous process and Government of India is supplementing the efforts of the State Governments in addressing the challenges of pollution in river Ganga and its tributaries by providing financial and technical assistance under Namami Gange Programme. Under this 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.

A total of 502 projects have been sanctioned under the Namami Gange Programme for the rejuvenation of the River Ganga and its tributaries. Out of these, 323 projects have been completed.

The achievements of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) for improving the health of the river Ganga and its tributaries are as under:

1. As per the report, the Priority River Stretches (PRSs) on the river Ganga, based on the assessment carried out in 2022 (using 2019 and 2021 data), are as under:

a. Uttarakhand does not fall under polluted stretches (BOD < 3 mg/l);

b. In Uttar Pradesh, stretches from Farrukhabad to Allahabad and Mirzapur to Ghazipur fall under Priority Class V (BOD 3–6 mg/l);

3. In Bihar, stretches along Buxar, Patna, Fatwah, and Bhagalpur fall under Priority Class IV (BOD 6–10 mg/l);

4. Jharkhand does not fall under polluted stretches (BOD < 3 mg/l);

5. In West Bengal, the stretch from Behrampur to Haldia falls under Priority Class IV (BOD 6–10 mg/l).

Further, the value of Dissolved Oxygen (DO), which is an indicator of river health, has been found to be within the acceptable limits of the notified primary bathing water quality criteria and is satisfactory to support the ecosystem of the river along almost the entire stretch of the river Ganga.

2. Reduction in pollution load of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs): Annual inspection of GPIs through third party technical institutes like IITs and reputed engineering colleges started in 2017. This has 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.

3. As per the biomonitoring conducted during 2024–25 at 50 locations along River Ganga and its tributaries, the Biological Water Quality (BWQ) predominantly ranged from ‘Good’ to ‘Moderate’.

4. Further, the population of Dolphins in the river Ganga has shown a marked increase over the past decade. From an estimated baseline of 2,500–3,000 individuals in 2009, the population rose to approximately 3,500 in 2015 and further to around 6,327 individuals as per the nationwide survey conducted during 2021–2023. This represents more than a twofold increase since 2009. In the Ganga basin, the 2021–2023 assessment across 17 tributaries confirmed dolphin presence in multiple rivers where they were previously unrecorded, such as the Rupnarayan, Girwa, Kauriyala, Babai, Rapti, Bagmati, Mahananda, Ken, Betwa, and Sind.

5. The United Nations (UN) has recognized Namami Gange initiative to rejuvenate India’s sacred River Ganga as one of the top 10 World Restoration Flagships to revive the natural world. The Award was received by NMCG at a function in the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) to the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in Montreal, Canada on 14th December 2022, the World Restoration Day.

This information was provided by THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

MAM/SMP

(Lok Sabha US Q2068)

 

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(Release ID: 2150722)