Why in Broadcast?

• In the recent meeting of the National Ganga Council, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, it was informed that the Union Government has spent more than 13000 crores on cleaning Ganga since 2014.

Major Takeaways From the Meeting

• NGMC provided a detailed financial progress report in the council meeting.
• As per the details, the Union government has released a total of 13,709.72 crores to NGMC from the financial year 2014 to October 31st, 2022.
• The state of Uttar Pradesh received the largest outlay of Rs. 4,205.41 crores. Out of a total of 2,525 km of Ganga, about 1100 km length of Ganga falls under Uttar Pradesh.
• Uttar Pradesh was followed by Bihar (3516.63 crores), West Bengal (1320.39 crores), Delhi (1253.86 crores), and Uttarakhand (1117.34 crores).

Namami Gange Programme

• The Union Government designated the Namami Gange Programme as a “Flagship Program” in June 2014 to achieve the twin goals of effective pollution abatement, conservation and rejuvenation of the National River Ganga.
• The government had launched the programme for a period up to 31st March 2021, this period was extended for another five years till March 31st 2026.
• It is being operated under the Department of Water Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• The program is being implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (implementation wing of the national Ganga Council), and its state counterpart organizations.

Major Pillars

• Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure & Industrial Effluent Monitoring.
• River-Front Development & River-Surface Cleaning.
• Bio-Diversity & Afforestation.
• Public Awareness.

Recent updates about the programme

• The United Nations (UN) 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.
• There has been a gradual shift in the goals from mere maintaining cleanliness around the river and it’s tributaries to developing tourism, conservation and livelihood.
• The PM urged for a shift from Namami Gange, the Union Government’s flagship project to clean the Ganga, to the model of Arth Ganga.

Challenges Associated with Ganga Rejuvenation

• Pollution remains a major challenge for Ganga rejuvenation.
• Kanpur’s tanneries, and distilleries, paper, and sugar mills in the catchments of the Kosi, Ramganga, and Kali rivers, are major contributors to this.
• The problem of illegal and rampant construction near river beds has become a major hurdle in cleaning the river.
• Although, various efforts are made in this direction, poor governance such as lack of proper supervision and monitoring still remains a major challenge.