Namami Gange Programme

Dec. 26, 2022

Why in News?

The Prime Minister of India recently highlighted the global appreciation for the country’s flagship Namami Gange Programme for Ganga rejuvenation, giving credit to people’s participation in the programme.
The United Nations (UN) has recognised the initiative as one of the top 10 World Restoration Flagships and awarded it on 14th December 2022 - the World Restoration Day, at the COP15 to the CBD in Montreal, Canada.

What’s in today’s article:

About Namami Gange Programme:

It is an integrated conservation mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in 2014 with budget outlay of Rs.20,000 Crores.
It is administered by the Ministry of Jal Shakti's Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, to accomplish the twin objectives of -
- Effective abatement of pollution,
- Conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
The program would be implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and its state counterpart organisations i.e., State Program Management Groups (SPMGs).
- NMCG is the implementation wing of National Ganga Council (NGC, which replaced the National Ganga River Basin Authority).
- NGC was created in 2016 under the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016, and is headed by the PM.
In order to implement the programme, 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 the national level,
- State level committee chaired by Chief Secretary assisted by SPMG at the state level and
- District level committee chaired by the District Magistrate.
Its implementation has been divided into -
- Entry-Level Activities (for immediate visible impact),
- Medium-Term Activities (to be implemented within 5 years of time frame) and
- Long-Term Activities (to be implemented within 10 years).

Why is the Namami Gange programme needed?

Rising in the Himalayas and flowing to the Bay of Bengal, the river traverses a course of more than 2,500 km through the plains of north and eastern India.
The Ganga basin - which also extends into parts of Nepal, China and Bangladesh - accounts for 26% of India's landmass.
Thus, River Ganga has significant economic, environmental and cultural-spiritual value (one of India's holiest rivers), whose significance transcends the boundaries of the basin.

The key achievements under the programme are:

Creating Sewage Treatment Capacity: 98 sewage projects have been completed in the states of UK, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, etc.
Creating River-Front Development: The projects for the construction, modernisation, and renovation of 267 Ghats/Crematoria and Kunds/Ponds have been initiated.
River Surface Cleaning: River Surface cleaning for collection of floating solid waste from the surface of the Ghats and River and its disposal are afoot and pushed into service at 11 locations.
Biodiversity Conservation: Cadre of volunteers (Ganga Praharis) have been developed and trained to support conservation actions in the field
Public Awareness: Ganga Praharis and Ganga Doots are engaged in spreading awareness through planting trees, cleaning ghats, Ganga Aarti, painting and poems.
Industrial Effluent Monitoring: Regulation and enforcement through regular and surprise inspections of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) is carried out for compliance verification against stipulated environmental norms.
Deploying best available knowledge and resources across the world: Countries such as Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, Israel, etc., have been collaborating with India for Ganga rejuvenation

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