1

MEMBERS' REFERENCE SERVICE

LARRDIS
LOK SABHA SECRETARIAT, NEW DELHI

REFERENCE NOTE
No.59/RN/Ref./Nov/2017
For the use of Members of Parliament NOT FOR PUBLICATION1

NAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME

Prepared by Dr. Jayadev Sahu, Additional Director (23035025) and Shri Sai Ram C.V., Junior Library
Assistant of Lok Sabha Secretariat under the supervision of Smt. Kalpana Sharma, Joint Secretary and
Smt. Anita Khanna, Director. reference r personal use of the Members in the discharge of their
Parliamentary

The Reference Note is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is not for
publication. This Service is not to be quoted as the source of information as it is based on the sources indicated at
the end/in the text.
 duties, ANDNAMAMI GANGE PROGRAMME

Introduction

Ganga is considered as the most sacred river in the country with a unique
cultural and spiritual significance. It occupies a special place in every Indian’s
heart. Traversing over 2,500 km, River Ganga is highly venerated and millions of
people from its origin in the Gangotri glacier in the Himalayas to the Sunderbans
delta in Bangladesh depend on its water for their livelihood.

River Network
The River Ganga originates in the Himalayas with several major head-
streams – Alaknanda, Bhagirathi, Bhilangana, Dhauliganga, Mandakini, Nandakini
and Pindar, which progressively join together on or before Devaprayag.
Descending in the plains, the river flows approximately southeast and is joined by
several large streams such as Ramganga, Yamuna, Kosi, Gandak, Gomti, Sone,
Karamnasa and Ghaghra to become an immense river in the plains below
Allahabad. The river then flows through the Rajmahal hills and divides into two
streams. The eastern branch – River Padma – flows southeast through Bangladesh
to join the Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers before flowing into the sea. The south-
flowing branch – River Hooghly – is joined by Rivers Damodar and Mayurakshi
before reaching the sea. The combined outfalls of the two branches together form
the world's largest delta (the "Sunderban Delta" covering about 60,000 sq.km.)
stretching across Bangladesh and West Bengal. Overall, River Ganga is more than
2500 km long.1 Diagram of River Ganga and her major tributaries are given in
Annexure I.
Salient Features of River Ganga
Total Length 2525kms
Uttarakhand 450kms
Uttar Pradesh 1000kms
Sharing length between UP & Bihar 110kms
Bihar 405kms

1
Ganga River Basin Management Plan, 2015, p.17-18.
 2

Jharkhand 40kms
West Bengal 520kms
Catchment Area Ganga Basin 8,61,404 sq km (26.4%) of India
Average Annual Discharge 4,93,400 million cubic meter
Main Tributaries Yamuna, Ramganga, Gonti, Ghaghara,
Gandak, Damodar, Kosi & Kali-East

Main Sub tributaries Chambal, Sindh, Betwa, Ken,

Tons(beyond Five States), Sone &
Kasia-Haldi

Major Cities located on the bank Srinagar, Rishikesh, Haridwar,

Roorke(in Uttarakhand), Bijnor, Narora,
Kanuj, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi,
Mirzapur (in Uttar Pradesh), Patna,
Bhagalpur (in Bihar) and Brahrampur,
Serampore, Hawarah and Kolkata (in
West Bengal)2

Pollution Level
Rapidly increasing population, rising standards of living and exponential
growth of industrialisation and urbanisation have exposed water resources, in
general, and rivers, in particular, to various forms of degradation. The mighty
Ganga is no exception. The pollution in the Ganga River is caused by both point
sources such as domestic & industrial waste water and non-point sources such as
agricultural runoff, solid waste dumping, open defecation, left over religious
material, etc. The domestic sewage contributes to 70 per cent of the pollution load
while industrial waste water contribute to 20 per cent of the overall pollution load.
Remaining 10 per cent of the pollution is due to non-point sources as mentioned
above.3
Pollution Assessment by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)4
Pollution Type Description
Municipal Sewage As per CPCB, about 2723.3 mld of sewage is disposed
in river Ganga from 36 Class I &14 Class II towns,
against which a treatment capacity of about 1208.8 mld
has been created.

2
Pollution Assessment: River Ganga, Central Pollution control Board, 2013,p.2.
3 th
15 Report of the Committee on Estimates on Ganga Rejuvenation (2016-17), p.27.
4
Ibid. p.27
 3

Industrial Pollution 669 MLD of industrial waste water is discharged from

1109 Grossly polluting industries (GPI) on main stem
of the river Ganga. The main industrial sectors
responsible for pollution in Ganga are; Sugar,
Distillery, Pulp and Paper, Tannery, and textile etc.

Open defecation As per 2011 census, 33.64 Lacs households in the five
main states do not have an access to toilet facilities and
out of these 28.91 Lacs households defecate openly and
4.72 have an access to community toilets.

Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation has been

implementing the scheme of Open Defecation Free
(ODF) Zone for Rural areas along the banks of river
Ganga under their Swachch Bharat Mission (SBM)-
Gramin Programme. Out of 4470 Ganga villages
identified by them 4464 villages have been declared
ODF. A total of 977725 Individual House Hold Latrines
(IHHLs) have been constructed which are eligible for
financial aid and the Center’s share for the same comes
to Rs. 1012 crores approx.
Use of fertilizers Eleven Ganga Basin states consume 10 million tons of
chemical fertilizers per year, which constitutes 45% of
the total chemical fertilizer consumption of the country
leading to disposal of high levels of nitrogen and
phosphorus. As per estimates, run off from arable lands
contains up to 70mg/l of nitrogen and phosphorus
ranging from .05-1.1 mg/l, with potential to raise the
nutrient level to a considerable degree in stream waters.
Solid waste About 14000 metric tons per day of Municipal Solid
Waste has been estimated to be generated from Class-I
and Class-II cities/towns situated on the main stem of
Ganga.

Water Quality
The Ganga River is famous for its purity and its unique capacity for self
purification due to high dissolved oxygen contents and radioactive radon reported
in the river water by some workers. The river also supports a large population of
macrophages- parasites, which according to some, multiply exponentially by
attacking bacteria. But reduced flows of the Ganga and Yamuna with diminished
dissolved oxygen, discharge of untreated industrial and municipal waste and
effluents into the river, as also agricultural runoffs have much to do with degraded
Ganga’s self cleaning capacity and river water quality.
Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical
Oxygen Demand (COD), fecal Colifor count (FCC) are some of the determinants
 4

of the river water quality. Sewage and Industrial wastes containing oxidisable
organic matter exert a demand on dissolved oxygen, thereby reducing DO content
of the river. BOD indicates biochemically degradable organic content at the
expense of DO. COD indicates total organic content of water. Adequate reserve of
Oxygen (DO) in the river water supports biochemical oxidation, while lack of it
triggers anaerobic breakdown of organic matter and septic condition of the river5.
The four stretches of river Ganga where Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
levels are more than permissible limits, as monitored by CPCB is given below6.
State Stretch Identified BOD range/ max
Length of value (mg/l)
Stretch (km)
Uttarakhand Haridwar to 10 4.2-5.8
SultanpurAdampu
Uttar Pradesh Kannauj to Varanasi 450 3.8-16.9
Bihar Buxar to Bhagalpur 40 7.8-2.7
West Bengal Tribeni to Diamond 50 3.1-5.8
Harbour
In other stretches, BOD levels are within permissible limits i.e. =<3 mg/l.
However, as per monitoring reports of CPCB, entire stretch of river Ganga has
high levels of faecal coliform against the prescribed limits.
Measures to improve water quality
Ganga Action Plan (GAP) Phase-I and Phase-II
The Ganga Action Plan (GAP) Phase-I was launched as a centrally funded
scheme in 1985 and later Ganga Action Plan (GAP) Phase-II was initiated in 1993
with the objective of improving the water quality of river Ganga. Various pollution
abatement schemes including interception & diversion of sewage and setting up of
sewage treatment plants were taken up under the Plan. Under both phases of GAP,
a total of 575 schemes have been sanctioned for undertaking pollution abatement
activities in the identified polluted stretches of the river Ganga, of which 524

5
Ibid,p.132.
6
Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3032, dated 03 August 2017.
 5

schemes with a capacity to treat pollution load of 1098 million litres per day (mld)
have been established under GAP-I and II respectively.7

National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)

The NGRBA has been established through the Gazette notification of the
Government of India (Extraordinary) No. 328 dated 20 February 2009 with the
objectives of (a) ensuring effective abatement of pollution and conservation of the
river Ganga by adopting a river basin approach to promote inter-sectoral co-
ordination for comprehensive planning and management; and (b) maintaining
environmental flows in the river Ganga with the aim of ensuring water quality and
environmentally sustainable development.
NGRBA is mandated to take up regulatory and developmental functions
with sustainability needs for effective abatement of pollution and conservation of
the river Ganga by adopting a river basin approach for comprehensive planning
and management. The authority is chaired by the Prime Minister and has as its
members the Union Ministers concerned, the Chief Ministers of the States through
which Ganga flows, viz., Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West
Bengal, among others.

NGRBA functions include development of a Ganga River Basin

Management Plan, regulation of activities aimed at prevention, control and
abatement of pollution, to maintain water quality and to take measures relevant to
the river ecology in the Ganga basin states. It is mandated to ensure the
maintenance of minimum ecological flows in the river Ganga and abate pollution
through planning, financing and execution of programmes.

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

The NMCG was registered as a society on 12 August 2011 under the

Societies Registration Act 1860. It acted as implementation arm of National Ganga

7
Reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 786 dated, 16 July 2014
 6

River Basin Authority (NGRBA). The aims and objectives of the society were to
implement the work programme of NGRBA and assist the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MoEF) in accomplishing the mandate of NGRBA.

National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga

The NGRBA was dissolved with effect from the 7 October 2016,
consequent to constitution of the National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection
and Management of River Ganga vide notification no. S.O. 3187(E) dt. 7th
October 2016 under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, which empowers
NMCG to discharge its functions in an independent and accountable manner.
The National Council is to follow the following principles in taking
measures for the rejuvenation, protection and management of River Ganga,
namely:
(I) the River Ganga shall be managed as a single system;
(II) the restoration and maintenance of the chemical, physical, and biological
quality of the waters of River Ganga shall be achieved in a time bound
manner;
(III) the River Ganga shall be managed in an ecologically sustainable manner;
(IV) the continuity of flow in the River Ganga shall be maintained without
altering the natural seasonal variations;
(V) the longitudinal, lateral and vertical dimensions (connectivities) of River
Ganga shall be incorporated into river management processes and
practices;
(VI) the integral relationship between the surface flow and sub-surface water
(ground water) shall be restored and maintained;
(VII) the lost natural vegetation in catchment area shall be regenerated and
maintained;
(VIII) the aquatic and riparian biodiversity in River Ganga Basin shall be
regenerated and conserved;
(IX) the bank of River Ganga and its flood plain shall be construction free
Zone to reduce pollution sources, pressures and to maintain its natural
ground water recharge functions;
(X) the public participation in rejuvenation, protection and management,
revision and enforcement of any regulation, standard, effluent limitation
plan, or programme for rejuvenation, protection and management shall
be encouraged and made an integral part of processes and practices of
 7

A five tier structure has been created through the Order No S.O. 3187(E)
dated 7th October 2016 invoking the provision under Section 3 of Environment
(Protection) Act, 1986 at the national, state and district level to take measures 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 as
below:8

1. National Ganga Council under chairmanship of Hon’ble Prime Minister of

India,
2. Empowered Task Force (ETF) on river Ganga under chairmanship of
Hon’ble Union Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga
Rejuvenation,
3. National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG),
4. State Ganga Committees, and
5. District Ganga Committees in every specified district abutting river Ganga
and its tributaries in the States.
Namami Gange Programme
The Namami Gange programme was introduced in 2014 as an umbrella
programme, with the aim of integrating previous and currently ongoing initiatives
by enhancing efficiency, extracting synergies and supplementing them with more
comprehensive & better coordinated interventions. The Cabinet approved the
Namami Gange programme on 13 May 2015 for Rs. 20,000 crore for 5 years
(2015-20). This is a significant four-fold increase over the expenditure in the past
30 years (Government of India incurred an overall expenditure of approximately
Rs. 4000 crore on this task since 1985).
Marking a major shift in implementation, the Government is focusing on
involving people living on the banks of the river to attain sustainable results. The
programme also focuses on involving the States and grassroots level institutions
such as Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions in implementation.
The program would be implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga
(NMCG), and its State counterpart organizations i.e., State Program Management

8
Official Website of National Mission for Clean Ganga
 8

Groups (SPMGs). NMCG can issue such directions in writing as it may consider
necessary for abatement of pollution and rejuvenation, protection and management
of the River Ganga to the concerned authority or local authority or other
authorities or Board or Corporation or person and they shall be bound to comply
with such directions. The NMCG will also establish field offices wherever
necessary. In order to improve implementation, a three-tier mechanism has been
proposed for project monitoring comprising of (a) High level task force chaired by
Cabinet Secretary assisted by NMCG at national level, (b) State level committee
chaired by Chief Secretary assisted by SPMG at State level and (c) District level
committee chaired by the District Magistrate.
In order to ramp up progress, the Centre will now take over 100 percent
funding of various activities/ projects under this program. Taking a leaf from the
unsatisfactory results of the earlier Ganga Action Plans, the Centre now plans to
provide for operation & maintenance of the assets for a minimum 10 year period,
and adopt a Public Private Partnership (PPP)/Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
approach for pollution hotspots. In an attempt to bolster enforcement, the Centre
also plans to establish a four battalion Ganga Eco-Task Force, a Territorial Army
unit, apart from contemplating on a legislation that aims to check pollution and
protect the river.
The program emphasizes on improved coordination mechanisms between
various Ministries/Agencies of Central and State Governments. Major
infrastructure investments which fall under the original mandate of other ministries
viz. Urban Development (UD), Drinking Water & Sanitation (DWS),
Environment, Forests & Climate Change (EF&CC) etc., will be undertaken in
addition.
The Namami Gange will focus on pollution abatement interventions namely
interception, diversion & treatment of wastewater flowing through the open drains
through bio-remediation/appropriate in-situ treatment/use of innovative
technologies/sewage treatment plants (STPs)/effluent treatment plant (ETPs);
 9

rehabilitation and augmentation of existing STPs and immediate short term

measures for arresting pollution at exit points on river front to prevent inflow of
sewage, etc.
Significantly the approach is underpinned by socio-economic benefits that
the program is expected to deliver in terms of job creation, improved livelihoods
and health benefits to the vast population that is dependent on the river.9
Projects under Namami Gange Mission
The Namami Gange Programme covers short term, medium term and
long term activities. Under short term activities certain entry level activities
which covers development of Ghat crematoria & river surface cleaning
activities, etc. have been taken up. Under medium term activities existing
sewage treatment plants (STPs) and effluent treatment plants (ETPs) are being
upgraded and new STPs and ETPs are being established. Beside, rural
sanitation has been taken up in the villages on the banks of river Ganga. The
long term action plan involves restoration of wholesomeness of river Ganga,
and maintaining the ecological and geological integrity of river.
The short term and medium term projects are likely to be completed by
2020. Under the Namami Gange Programme a total of 163 projects for various
activities such as sewage infrastructure, river front development, ghat and
crematoria, ghat cleaning, rural sanitation, etc. have been sanctioned. 10 Project
status as on 31st October 2017 is given in Annexure-II. The funds
allocated/released by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to the
States/CPSUs/other agencies under Namami Gange Mission so far from Financial
year 2014-15 to 2017-18 till 31st October, 2017 is given in Annexure III.

9
PIB-Press Release dated, 13 May 2015
10
Reply to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3082 dated, 03 August 2017
 10

Sources Consulted
1.Ganga River Basin Management Plan, 2015.
2.Pollution Assessment: River Ganga, Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi,
July 2013.
3. Fifteenth Report of the Committee on Estimates on Ganga Rejuvenation(2016-
17), Lok Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi.
4. Conservation of Water Quality of River Ganga, A segmental Approach, CPCB,
2016.
5.Official websites of the National Mission for Clean Ganga
(http://nmcg.nic.in/index.aspx).
6. Notification no. S.O. 3187(E) dated 7th October 2016 Ministry of Water
Resources, River Development, and Ganga Rejuvenation, The Gazette of India,
7.10. 2017
7.Reply to Lok Sabha Questions.
8.PIB-Press Releases.
9. Inputs from the National Mission for Clean Ganga, Ministry of Water
Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation dated 15 November 2017.
 11

Annexure-I

Course Of Ganga
 12

Annexure -II

Projects Status as on 31st October2017

Total
No of No of No of Revise
Sanction AA& Expend
Sl No of Projects Projects Projects d
No
Projects Undertaken
Projects
Cost
Complet Under Under ES iture
(Rs in Cr) AA&E
ed Progress Tendering issued (Rs in
S
Cr)
Sewage Infrastructure
1 Sewage Infrastructure 93 14063.01 18 28 39 7 1 2347.98
Entry Level Activites

2 Old Ghats & 24 204.39 24 0 0 0 0 180.16

Crematoria ( Projects
under
NRCP/NGRBA-in
State of West Bengal )
Ghats & 37 1164.02 0 21 14 2 0 45.24
Crematoria(New
Projects under
Namami Gange
Programme)
3 Ghats Cleaning 1 5.00 0 1 0 0 0 4.42

4 River Surface 1 55.24 0 1 0 0 0 0.00

Cleaning
Sub Total 63 1428.65 24 23 14 2 0 229.82

River Front Development

5 River Front 4 324.56 0 3 1 0 0 158.40

Development
Institutional Development (Non -Infrastructure)

6 GKC 2 48.54 1 1 0 0 0 2.15

7 GMC 1 46.69 0 0 0 1 0 0.00
8 CPCB 3 202.28 0 3 0 0 0 19.03
Sub Total 6 297.51 1 4 0 1 0 21.18
Project Implementation Support/Research & Study Projects
9 Educating Schools & 1 1.28 1 0 0 0 0 1.11
Communities for
conserving habitat of
Ganga River Dolphin
10 Preparation of DPR of 1 1.18 1 0 0 0 0 1.19
Forestry
Interventation for
Ganga
11 Assessment of Water 1 5 1 0 0 0 0 2.81
Qulaity & Sediment
Analysis to
understand the special
property of river
 13

Ganga

12 A Detail Study to 1 4.96 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Understand the Non-
Putrefying Property of
River Ganga in both
Water & Sediment
Sub Total 4 12.42 3 0 0 1 0 5.11
Biodiversity
13 Assessment of fish & 1 5.80 0 1 0 0 0 1.42
fisheries of the Ganga
river system for
developing suitable
conservation &
restoration plan
14 Biodiversity 2 24.83 0 2 0 0 0 10.23
Conservation
Sub Total 3 30.63 0 3 0 0 0 11.65
Afforestation

15 Afforestation 10 112.10 0 10 0 0 0 78.94

Rural Sanitation-UNDP

16 Rural Sanitation- 1 127.83 0 1 0 0 0 5.00

UNDP

Composite Ecological Task Force

17 Composite 1 167.00 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Ecological Task
Force
Bioremediation

18 Bioremediation 2 1.63 0 0 0 2 0 0.00

Solid Waste Management

19 Solid Waste 1 66.08 0 0 0 1 0 0.00

Management

GrandTotal 188 16631.42 46 72 54 15 1 2858.08

 14

Annexure-III

Funds Allocated Released NMCG to the States/CPSUs/Other Agencies under

Namami Gange from 2014-15 to 2017-18 (Rs.In crore)
2014- 2015- 2016-
15 16 17 2017-18*
B. Break up of
Expenditure/Releases
1. Agencies /States
Bihar 120.23 82.03 14.20
Jharkhand 0.97 27.83 46.18 7.57
UP 74.58 147.58 587.17 105.74
Uttrakhand 4.26 30.26 30.66 66.98
West Bengal 73.85 185.79 114.25 4.13
Haryana 30.00 52.73
Delhi 4.96 2.17 47.86
Madhya Pradesh 3.39 6.50
Rajasthan 20.00
Sub Total 153.66 550.04 941.69 246.48
B. Release to CPSUs & Other
Implementing Agencies
EIL 5.77 15.73 31.51
NBCC 4.00 0 7.08
WAPCOS 6.78 13.31 13.72
NPCC 3.35 6.59
EPIL 3.00 0.00
CPCB 1.86 6.94 8.35
Wild Life Institute 10.23 0.00
Centre for Environment 0.25 0.35 0.89 0.00
Engg,Lucknow
NEERI,Nagpur 1.68 2.81 0.49
Forest Research Institute 1.33 0 0.00
CIFRI 0.01 0.68 0.74
NYKS 4.00
PCDA(GTF) 30.34
Sub Total (B) 0.25 21.78 56.94 102.81
Grand Total(A+B+C) 153.91 571.82 998.63 349.29

* For the year 2017-18 Expenditure is upto 31.10.2017

 15

Sewerage Infrastructure Projects Approved

Particulars Till May May 2014 to Since Oct In Pipeline

2014 Oct 2016 2016 till date
No. of 34 13 46 2
Projects
Amount 3581.34 2005.46 7744.39 148 (Tentative
Sanctioned Cost)
(Rs in Cr)
STP capacity 583.03 149.30 1512.85 17
to be created
(MLD)
STP Capacity 92 410 82
to be created
by
rehabilitation
(MLD)

Sewer 2217.24 1446.74 1485.51

Network to be
laid (Km)
Hybrid Nil Nil 13
Annuity
projects