Government of India is supplementing the efforts of the state governments in addressing the pollution of river Ganga by providing financial assistance to the states. Namami Gange Programme is an umbrella programme which integrates previous and currently ongoing initiatives by enhancing efficiency, extracting synergies and supplementing them with more comprehensive & better coordinated interventions.
Till 30th Nov 2018, 254 projects of sewerage infrastructure, bioremediation, modular Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), rural sanitation, industrial pollution abatement, river front development, construction of ghats and crematoria development, ghat cleaning, river surface cleaning, biodiversity and afforestation, composite ecological task force and capacity building have been sanctioned at a cost of approx. Rs.24,672 crore.
Under sewerage infrastructure, till, 30th Nov 2018, 131 projects (105 on Ganga & 26 on tributaries) of sewerage infrastructure at sanctioned cost of Rs.19,742 crore have been sanctioned for creation of 3083 Million Litres per Day (MLD) new Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) capacity, rehabilitation of 886 MLD STP capacity and laying of approx. 4871 KM sewerage networks. Till date, 31 projects of pollution abatement have been completed which has resulted in laying of 2268 Km sewer networks and creation of 560 MLD of sewage treatment plant capacity in Ganga basin.
An amount of Rs. Rs.4,994.10 crore has been spent against the total released amount of Rs.6,131.22 crore from 2014-15 to 2018 (till 30th November 2018).
Under the Namami Gange programme, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is carrying out the water quality monitoring of river Ganga. Comparison of recent observed water quality indicates that 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 across all seasons and also for almost entire stretch of river Ganga.
Due to various pollution abatement initiatives taken by the Government, under the Namami Gange programme, the river Ganga water quality assessment in 2018 has shown trend of improved water quality as compared to 2017. The Dissolved Oxygen levels have improved at 39 locations, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels and Faecal Coliforms have decreased at 42 and 47 locations, respectively.
Some stretches, where the improvement has been observed are:
- Down stream (D/s) Rishikesh
- Har-Ki- Pauri Ghat
- Kanpur Up stream (U/s) (Ranighat)
- Tarighat (Ghazipur)
- Narora (Bulandsahar)
- Kachhla Ghat, Aligarh
- Buxar
- Mokama (D/S)
- U/S Munger
- Uluberia
- Dakshineshwar
- Diamond Harbour
Cleaning of the river is a continuous process and efforts are being made to complete the projects by the year 2020 for creating adequate Sewage Treatment Capacity.
This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr. Satya Pal Singh in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
