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National Mission for Clean Ganga- River Conservation

18 Jan,2024 Download Pdf 4 Min Read

On 12^th August 2011, the NMCG was listed as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It acted as the implementation arm of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA),1986.

NGRBA was dissolved in 2016 and replaced by the National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection, and Management of River Ganga.

Objective: The objective of the NMCG is to reduce pollution and ensure the rejuvenation of the Ganga River.Namami Gange is one of the Coveted Programmes of NMCG to clean Ganga.

This can be achieved by promoting intersectoral coordination for comprehensive planning & management and maintaining minimum ecological flow in the river, with the aim of ensuring water quality and environmentally sustainable development.

Organization Structure: The Act envisages a five-tier structure at the national, state, and district levels to take measures for prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution in river Ganga as below:

- National Ganga Council under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.
- Empowered Task Force (ETF) on river Ganga under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti (Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation).
- National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
- State Ganga Committees
- District Ganga Committees in every specified district abutting river Ganga and its tributaries in the states.

Vision – To ensure Aviral Dhara (Continuous Flow), Nirmal Dhara (Unpolluted Flow), Geologic and ecological integrity.

Operation – The implementation arm of National Ganga Council since 2016.

It has a 2-tier management structure and comprises of Governing Council and Executive Committee.

Key functions – Implement the work programme of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) and the World Bank supported National Ganga River Basin Project.

Coordinate and oversee the implementation of the projects.
Accept or to provide any grant of money, loan securities or property to undertake operations.

New Provisions – NMCG may now permit the discharge of treated sewage and effluent that conforms to the prescribed “norms” into the river, canal or water bodies.

Recent activities of NMCG in 2023 – It has organised the 8^th India Water Impact Summit (IWIS) and Driving Holistic Action for Urban Rivers (DHARA) Conference.

It has launched Global River Cities Alliance with 9 countries to scale up collaborative knowledge sharing to facilitate river conservation.

Role of EPA, 1986 in protecting River Ganga

It aims for prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution in river Ganga and to ensure continuous adequate flow of water so as to rejuvenate the River Ganga.
It envisages 5 tier structure at national, state and district level as below
- National Ganga Council under chairmanship of Prime Minister of India.
- Empowered Task Force (ETF) on river Ganga under chairmanship of Hon’ble Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
- National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
- State Ganga Committees
- District Ganga Committees in every specified district abutting river Ganga and its tributaries in the states.

Achievements

In the last seven years, while some progress has been made by India’s National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), there are still significant challenges ahead in achieving the mission's goals.

The NMCG has installed treatment plants capable of treating just 20% of the sewage estimated to be generated in the five major States that lie along the Ganga River.These states are Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
The NMCG has projected that the treatment capacity for sewage will increase to 33% of the estimated amount generated by 2024, and further increase to 60% by 2026.
The NMCG plans to set up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) capable of treating about 7,000 MLD of sewage by 2026.
As of July 2023, STPs with a total capacity of 2,665 MLD have been commissioned and are operational. The progress has picked up significantly in recent years, with 1,455 MLD capacity completed in the last financial year (2022-23).
STPs and sewerage networks are at the heart of the Namami Ganga Mission and account for about 80% of the overall project outlay.