National Mission for Clean Ganga

  • August 30, 2021
  • Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
  • Category: DPN Topics
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National Mission for Clean Ganga

Subject – Governance

Context – The need for infrastructure development in the Himalayan region rubs up against the environmental and ecological challenges that they pose.

Concept –

  • The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) was implemented by the National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga also known as the National Ganga Council (set in 2016; which replaced the National Ganga River Basin Authority – NGRBA).
  • This mission was established in 12th August 2011 under the Societies Registration Act,1860 as a registered society.
  • It has a two-tier management structure and comprises of Governing Council and Executive Committee.
  • The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under National Ganga Council is supported by the State level Programme Management Groups (SPMGs) in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.
  • It is an initiative taken by the Government of India to address the pollution of the river Ganga by providing financial and technical assistance.

Some of the major objectives of the Nation Mission for Clean Ganga are:

  • The mission incorporates rehabilitating and boosting the existing STPs and instant short-term steps to curb pollution at exit points on the riverfront in order to check the inflow of sewage.
  • To maintain the continuity of the water flow without changing the natural season variations.
  • To restore and maintain the surface flow and groundwater.
  • To regenerate and maintain the natural vegetation of the area.
  • To conserve and regenerate the aquatic biodiversity as well as the riparian biodiversity of the river Ganga basin.
  • To allow participation of the public in the process of protection, rejuvenation and management of the river.

Initiatives to Prevent Ganga Pollution

  • Ganga Action Plan: It was the first River Action Plan that was taken up by the Ministry of Environment & Forests in 1985, to improve the water quality by the treatment of domestic sewage. It also aimed to prevent toxic and industrial chemical wastes (from identified polluting units) from entering the river.
  • National River Conservation Plan was an extension to the Ganga Action Plan, so as to cover all the major rivers of the country.
  • ‘National River Ganga Basin Authority (NRGBA)’ was formed by the Central Government of India in the year 2009 under Section-3 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986. It is chaired by the Prime Minister of India.
    • It declared the Ganga as the ‘National River’ of India.
  • In 2010, ‘Government clean-up campaign’ was started to ensure that by 2020 no untreated municipal sewage or industrial runoff enters river.
  • In 2014, ‘Namami Gange Programme’ was launched as an Integrated Conservation Mission, to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation, and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
    • The program is being implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and its state counterpart organization viz., State Program Management Groups (SPMGs).
  • Ganga Manthan– It was a national conference that was held in 2014 to discuss issues and possible solutions for cleaning the river. The event was organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
  • In 2014, Clean Ganga Fund was also formed for cleaning up of the Ganga, setting up of waste treatment plants. This fund will also be used to finance National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
  • In 2017, the National Green Tribunal banned the disposal of any waste in the Ganga.

Namami Gange Programme:

  • Namami Gange Programme is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as a ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution and conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
  • It is being operated under the Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti.
  • The program is being implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG),and its state counterpart organizations i.e State Program Management Groups (SPMGs).
    • NMCG is the implementation wing of National Ganga Council (set in 2016; which replaced the National Ganga River Basin Authority – NGRBA).
  • It has a Rs. 20,000-crore, centrally-funded, non-lapsable corpus and consists of nearly 288 projects.
  • The main pillars of the programme are:
    • Sewage Treatment Infrastructure
    • River-Front Development
    • River-Surface Cleaning
    • Biodiversity
    • Afforestation
    • Public Awareness
    • Industrial Effluent Monitoring
    • Ganga Gram

The Ganga River System:

  • The Ganga is formed from the 6 headstreams and their five confluences.
  • The headwaters of the Ganga called the ‘Bhagirathi’ are fed by the Gangotri Glacier and joined by the Alaknanda at Devprayag in Uttarakhand.
  • At Haridwar, Ganga emerges from the mountains to the plains.
  • The Ganga is joined by many tributaries from the Himalayas, a few of them being major rivers such as the Yamuna, the Ghaghara, the Gandak and the Kosi.
  • Before entering the Bay of Bengal, the Ganga, along with the Brahmaputra, forms the largest delta of the world between the Bhagirathi/Hugli and the Padma/Meghna covering an area of 58,752 sq km.

Governance NATIONAL MISSION FOR CLEAN GANGA