Effectiveness of Namami Gange programme

 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF JAL SHAKTI,

DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT & GANGA REJUVENATION

LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2549

ANSWERED ON 22.12.2022

EFFECTIVENESS OF NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME

2549 SHRI T.N. PRATHAPAN DR. AMAR SINGH

Will the Minister of JAL SHAKTI be pleased to state:-

(a) whether the Government is aware of the ineffectiveness of the Namami Gange project in Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal and if so, the details thereof; 

(b) the reasons as to why only 224 out of 759 (29.5 per cent) of the overall projects have been completed after seven years of the programme being in force; 

(c) whether the Government proposes to implement the National Mission for Clean Ganga Executive Committee’s recommendation to conduct an assessment of inter State relations in the context of Namami Gange with the goal of resolving disputes and fostering cooperation; and 

(d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI 

(SHRI PRAHLAD SINGH PATEL)

(a) Under Namami Gange Programme, a comprehensive set of effective 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 by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), out of which 224 projects have been completed and made operational. The details of projects sanctioned and completed in Uttarakhand, Bihar and West Bengal as on October 2022, are as under:-

 Sewage Infrastructure

Projects Status as on 31st October 2022

Sl No States No of Projects STP Capacity to be created (In MLD ) Creation of STP capacity through rehabilitation 

of Old STP in MLD Sewer Network to be laid (in km) No. of Projects completed STP Capacity Created STP capacity created through rehabilitation of Old STP in MLD Sewer Network laid (in km)

1. Uttarakhand 41 223.14 196.23 33 161.80 169.61

2. Bihar 33 676.10 0.00 1770.21 10 233.50 0.00 1113.42

3. West Bengal 26 684.18 187.04 1030.43 11 137.03 137.04 841.87

 

In Uttarakhand, the installed sewage treatment capacity is more than the sewage generated; while in Bihar, with the implementation of NamamiGange programme, the sewage treatment capacity will increase 10 times. In West Bengal also the projects are being implemented successfully to improve the water quality.

Based on the water quality assessment by Central Pollution Control Board (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. 

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 at 28 locations, respectively.

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.

(b) Under Namami Gange Programme, total 406 projects have been sanctioned and out of this 224 projects are completed which accounts for 55% of total projects sanctioned. 

The impediments faced during implementation of infrastructure and sewerage projects include: delays in obtaining permissions for road cutting, railways/NH crossings, land procurement, forest clearances, change of sites, Covid-19, abnormal floods etc. However, steps have been taken to address these issues and the project  completion has gained momentum. 

(c) & (d) Executive Committee (EC) of NMCG has approved the project on “Interstate Cooperation for Namami Gange: Policy and Institutional Challenges and Opportunities” in its 43rd meeting held on 13th July 2022. The project was developed in pursuance of the objectives of the MoU signed between NMCG and Centre for Policy Research (CPR) on 14th December 2021. The objectives of the proposal are as follows:

i. Carry out an assessment of interstate relations taking into consideration of the history of conflicts and cooperation in the basin.

ii. Examine the emerging collective concerns about water quality in the basin to understand the potential for mobilizing collective action.

iii. Identify gaps and avenues for the Centre to address towards enabling interstate cooperation for Ganga rejuvenation.