Namami Gange Project

Namami Gange Project or Namami Ganga Yojana  is an ambitious Union Government Project  which integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner. The project is officially known as Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission project.

This project aims at Ganga Rejuvenation by combining the existing ongoing efforts and planning under it to create a concrete action plan for future.

Previous approaches for Ganga cleaning

Ganga Action Plan

• Ganga Action plan was launched in two phase manner by then PM Mr. Rajiv Gandhi:
• Phase I 1985: Covered 25 Ganga towns in three states over Rs 862.59 crore were spent.
• Phase II : Covered 59 towns in five states over Rs 505.31 cr were spent.

Separate action plans for rivers- Yamuna, Damodar, Gomti & Mahananda. This Action plan was failure.

National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)

This was launched by UPA government over 43 towns were covered in five states and over Rs 1,027 crore were spent until March 31, 2015.

Key Features of Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission Project

• The scheme involves expenditure of over Rs. 20 thousand crore for five years from 2014-15. It covers eight states, 47 towns and 12 rivers.
• The Ministry of Water Resources is nodal ministry and other ministries working on scheme include Environment, Urban Development, Shiping, Tourism and Rural Development.
• One of the stated objectives of the scheme is to involve people living on the river’s banks in this project. Over 1,632 gram panchayats on the banks of Ganga to be made open defecation-free by 2022.
• Under the aegis of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) & State Programme Management Groups (SPMGs) States and Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj institutions will be involved in this project.
• Setting river centric urban planning process to facilitate better citizen connects, through interventions at Ghats and River fronts.
• Expansion of coverage of sewerage infrastructure in 118 urban habitations on banks of Ganga.
• Enforcement of Ganga specific River Regulatory Zones.
• Development of rational agricultural practices & efficient irrigation methods.
• Setting Ganga Knowledge Centre.
• Checking of river Ganga Pollution through:
  • Treatment of waste water in drains by applying bio-remediation method.
  • Treatment of waste water through in-situ treatment.
  • Treatment of waste water by the use of innovative technologies.
  • Treatment of waste water through municipal sewage & effluent treatment plants.
  • Introducing immediate measures to arrest inflow of sewage.
  • Introducing PPP approach for pollution control.
  • Introduction of 4-battalion of Territorial Army Ganga Eco-Task Force.

Various Initiatives under Namami Gange Project

National Ganga Council  and National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

NMCG is implementation wing of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga (also referred as National Ganga Council). It was established in 2011 as a registered society under Societies Registration Act, 1860.

It has a two tier management structure and comprises of Governing Council and Executive Committee. Both of them are headed by Director General (DG), NMCG. Executive Committee is authorized to approve projects under mission up to Rs.1000 crore.

Similar to structure at national level, State Programme Management Groups (SPMGs) acts as implementing arm of State Ganga Committees. This structure attempts to bring all stakeholders on one platform to take a holistic approach towards the task of Ganga cleaning and rejuvenation.

Turtle Sanctuary Allahabad

The government has approved setting up of a Turtle sanctuary in Allahabad along with River Biodiversity Park at Sangam in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh under Namami Gange programme. The purpose of the Turtle sanctuary is to protect the rich aquatic biodiversity of river Ganga from escalating anthropogenic pressures.

First Across the River Survey, March, 2017

In March, 2017, the Union Government launched the first ever across-the-river survey in River Ganga to determine the population of aquatic life, including that of the endangered Gangetic doplhin. The survey will create a baseline scientific data for the government to take suitable measures to improve quality of the Ganga’s water. 

Ganga Gram Project

This project was launched recently for holistic sanitation development in villages on the banks of River Ganga.  These villages will set the bench mark of cleanliness and integrated effort of development. These will be converted into Ganga Grams by 31st December 2018. The objectives of Ganga Gram Project include solid and liquid waste management, renovation of ponds and water resources, water conservation projects, organic farming, horticulture, and promotion of medicinal plants.