Question : Irregularities in Namami Gange Mission

(a) the aims and objectives of implementing the Namami Gange Mission in the country along with the quantum of funds released/utilised thereunder since inception, State/UT-wise;

(b) whether the Government has received complaints of irregularities/ corruption in implementation of the said Mission in the country since inception, if so, the details thereof and the action taken/ being taken by the Government thereon so far;

(c) the mechanism put in place by the Government to monitor the implementation of the Mission towards achieving its aims and objectives within the stipulated time and to check irregularities/corruption therein; and

(d) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to ensure a complete ban on discharge of industrial effluents and untreated sewerage wastes into the river Ganga along with achievements made so far in its cleaning?

THE MINISTER FOR WATER RESOURCES, RIVER DEVELOPMENT AND GANGA REJUVENATION (SUSHRI UMA BHARTI)

(a) The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is the implementing arm of the priorities and national objectives envisaged under National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). It emphasizes on:

i. Pollution abatement and rejuvenation of the river Ganga by adopting a river basin approach to promote inter-sectoral co-ordination for comprehensive planning and management;
ii. To maintain required ecological flows in the river Ganga to ensure water quality and environmentally sustainable development.
National Mission for Clean Ganga was formed in August, 2011. The funds released/utilized since inception are as below:
Funds released to the states till 31.01.2016 since inception of National Mission for Clean Ganga (Amount in Rs. Crore)
States 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 * Grand Total
Bihar 0.60 91.14 79.02 170.76
Jharkhand 0.50 6.26 0.97 27.83 35.56
UP 53.44 109.11 92.30 74.58 128.96 458.39
Uttarakhand 12.85 17.05 4.26 24.67 58.82
West Bengal 0.60 48.91 73.85 126.83 250.19
Haryana 30.00 30.00
Delhi 4.96 4.96
Grand Total 53.44 123.65 255.66 153.66 422.27 1,008.68
* Rs.263 crore releases to Ministry of Drinking Water for Swach Bharat (Rural)For the year 2015-16
Contd..P-2/-

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(b) To View such matters a committee has been constituted by the ministry with expert members of the National Ganga River Basin Authority participating in the same..

(c) The monitoring mechanism for the Mission comprises of a three tier mechanism, 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. It is facilitated by:
i. An IT enabled web based monitoring mechanism for uploading information / data by various participating institutions and other agencies and will be accessible directly through a clear cut dash board provision for senior officials.
ii. The activities undertaken by the NMCG are audited by an appointed internal auditor, the internal audit team and the CAG of India under powers vested under Section 21 of the CAG Act under which a mandatory audit by CAG is undertaken every year.
iii. NMCG monitors the projects on concurrent basis through its core team, project management consultants, IITs / Engineering Colleges / Universities etc. and third party inspections.
iv. In addition, HLTF chaired by Cabinet Secretary also monitor the overall programme. The programme status is also considered in the meetings of NGRBA.
(d) The Government has taken several steps towards ensuring that the discharge of industrial effluents and untreated waste do not enter river Ganga. As part of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, till 31st December 2015, 96 projects has been sanctioned in 53 towns. These include 58 project related to creation of 808.23 MLD new STP and rehabilitation of 1089.00 MLD and laying / rehabilitation of 3627.15 Km sewer network. It is proposed to construct Sewage Treatment Plants in all the 118 towns/ cities located along the main stem and to connect all households to the sewage network.

In addition to the above, CPCB has issued directions for implementing the water conservation and Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) in 5 key industrial sectors in the Ganga Basin namely distillery, pulp & paper, sugar, textile and tannery. This has resulted in reduction of effluent discharge by 125 MLD corresponding to 77 tons per day of organic load. Based on compliance verification of effluent discharge standards from industries, CPCB has issued directions under Sec 5 of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 to the defaulters. Out of the 727 industries inspected, directions were issued to 210 industries, 65 of whom were closed. As a mechanism for verification of compliance of discharge standards from the industry, CPCB has also issued directions to the Grossly Polluting Industries (GPI) to install Online Continuous Effluent Monitoring System (OCEMS). Out of 764 units, 511 units have installed the system. CPCB issued directions under section 18(1)(b) of the Water (Prevention & Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 to SPCBs for mandatory Sewage treatment Plants of adequate capacity for treatment and disposal of sewage. CPCB has also issued directions to concerned municipalities / local authorities responsible for sewage management and asked to submit a time bound program for implementing the directions.
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