Question : Funds under Namami Gange Mission

(a) whether the Government is implementing Namami Gange Mission in the country to clean Ganga river and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether the Government has allocated/released any funds for several projects under the said mission and if so, the funds allocated/released and utilized during each of the last four years, State/ project-wise;
(c) the details of the works carried out thereunder during the said period along with the time by which the remaining work is likely to be completed including the extent of progress made in cleaning the river so far;
(d) whether presence of fecal coliform bacteria has increased in the river and if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon;
(e) whether any observations have been made by certain quarters including CAG on spending/utilization of funds meant for the purpose since inception of the mission and if so, the details thereof and the action taken thereon; and
(f) the steps taken/to be taken by the Government to clean the river fully and achieve the targets within the stipulated time?

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION & HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

(DR. SATYA PAL SINGH)

(a) 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. Government of India has approved Namami Gange Programme in May 2015 for conservation of river Ganga at a total outlay of Rs 20,000 Crores. 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.

(b) The details of amount allotted / released by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to State Governments during the last four financial years 2014-15 to financial year 2017-18, under the Namami Gange Programme are tabulated below:-

S.No. Name of the State 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
(Rupees in crore)
01 Uttarakhand 4.26 30.26 30.66 183.61
02 Uttar Pradesh 74.58 147.58 587.17 473.64
03 Bihar ----- 120.23 82.03 356.27
04 Jharkhand 0.97 27.83 46.18 7.57
05 West Bengal 73.85 185.79 114.25 244.01
06 Haryana ----- 30.00 52.73 6.88
07 Delhi ----- 4.96 2.17 81.57

Contd…P/2
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(c) Against the estimated sewage generation of 2953 Million Litres per Day (MLD) from the towns along main stem of river Ganga, the sewage treatment capacity in the towns along Ganga has increased from 1305 MLD (2014) to 1681 MLD capacity while the projects for creation of 784 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) capacity are at advance stages of completion. In addition, the projects for creation of 769 MLD have been approved and are under tendering.
Further, projects are being taken up on tributaries of Ganga like Yamuna, Kali, Ramganga, Gomti, Hindon, Saryu, Son, Gandak, Burhi Gandak, Kiul, Kosi, Mahananada and Damodar. Till date 10 projects have been taken up in tributaries namely Yamuna, Kali, Ramganga, Saryu and Kosi to create and rehabilitate STP capacity of 1353.5 MLD.
(d) Under the Namami Gange programme, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is carrying out the water quality monitoring of river Ganga from Gangotri to West Bengal. The river water quality monitoring carried out in 2017 indicates that the Faecal coliform counts have decreased at 30 locations as compared to 2016.

Some examples of stretches showing improvements are:

a) Ganga at Kannauj U/S (Rajghat)
b) Ganga at Kannauj D/S
c) Ganga at Kanpur U/S (Ranighat)
d) Ganga at Kanpur D/S (Jajmau Pumping Station)
e) Ganga at Varanasi D/S (Malviya Bridge)
f) Ganga at Trighat (Ghazipur)
g) Ganga at Buxar
h) Ganga at Khurji, Patna U/S
i) Ganga at Patna D/S (Ganga Bridge)
j) Ganga at Kahalgaon
k) Ganga at Munger
l) Ganga at Bhagalpur
m) Ganga at Dakshineshwar
n) Ganga at Baharampore
o) Ganga at Howrah- Shivpur
p) Ganga at Serampore
q) Ganga at Tribeni, Near Burning Ghat

(e) Yes, Madam. In its 39th Report, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) made observation on lower level of utilisation of funds by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in Namami Gange Mission. After the constitution of NMCG as an authority and its operationalization by December 2016, the pace of sanction of Sewerage Treatment Plants (STPs), Interception & Diversion Works and associated projects, as also various other projects leading to asset creation have gained pace and are at different stages of implementation and execution on the ground. Trend of expenditure has been increasing since then. This is likely to result in achievement of desired physical and financial targets.

(f) Namami Gange Programme is being carried out through variety of coordinated activities meant for cleaning of river Ganga including treatment of municipal sewage, treatment of industrial effluent, river surface cleaning, rural sanitation, River Front Development, Construction of Ghats and Crematoria, afforestation & biodiversity conservation, public outreach, etc. So far a total of 221 projects have been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs. 22,238 crore for various activities. Out of these, 58 projects have been completed.
National Ganga River Basin Authority in its 1st meeting held on 05/10/2009 has resolved that by 2020 no untreated municipal sewage or industrial effluent flows into river Ganga.
Cleaning of river is a continuous process and efforts are being made to complete these projects by the year 2020.
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