Why in News?

The Union Jal Shakti Ministry launched an e-flow ecological monitoring system that allows real-time planning and monitoring of projects, river water quality, and other key parameters.

What’s in Today’s Article?

• What is the Background in which the E-flows Monitoring System Launched?
• What is the E-flows Monitoring System?
• What is the Significance of the E-flows Monitoring System?
• About Namami Gange Programme

What is the Background in which the E-flows Monitoring System Launched?

• The Government of India mandated in 2018 minimum E-flow for various stretches of the Ganga River to be maintained year-round.
• Following this, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), an arm of the Jal Shakti Ministry, laid down the flow specifications essential for -
  • Preserving the river's ecological balance, safeguarding aquatic life, and
  • Ensuring sustainability amidst diverse water usage demands.
• From the upper Ganga Basin to its confluences and beyond, stringent measures are in place to ensure compliance with E-flow norms, benefiting both existing and future projects.
• With monitoring and regulatory mechanisms, Ganga's ecological resilience is being safeguarded for generations to come.

What is the E-flows Monitoring System?

• It has been developed by the NMCG and allows real-time analysis of the water quality of the Ganga, Yamuna, and their tributaries.
• It also allows monitoring of the Namami Gange programme activities at the central level, including -
  • Monitoring the performance of Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs), and
  • Ensuring that they operate at their rated capacity.
• The Namami Gange programme is a flagship programme of the Ministry that involved cleaning the Ganga and now includes its tributaries.

What is the Significance of the E-flows Monitoring System?

• The E-flow Monitoring System marks a significant step towards ensuring the continuous and sustainable flow of the Ganga River.
• The system will track key parameters such as in-flow, out-flow, and mandated E-flow across 11 projects along the Ganga Mainstream.

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).