World Bank to provide USD 400 million to enhance support for rejuvenating River Ganga

Union Government today said that the World Bank will provide USD 400 million to enhance support for rejuvenating the Ganga River.

Finance Ministry said, the World Bank and the Government today signed a loan agreement in this regard. The Second National Ganga River Basin Project (SNGRBP) will help stem pollution in the iconic river and strengthen the management of the river basin which is home to more than 500 million people.

The USD 400-million loan comprises a loan of USD 381 million and a proposed Guarantee of up to USD 19 million. The USD 381-million variable spread loan has a maturity of 18.5 years, including a grace period of 5 years. The USD 19 million guarantee expiry date will be 18 years from the guarantee effectiveness date, the World Bank said.

The agreement for the loan was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs and Qaiser Khan, Acting Country Director (India), on behalf of the World Bank.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Khare said that the Ganga is India's most important cultural, economic and environmental resource, and the government's Namami Gange program seeks to ensure that the river returns to a pollution-free, ecologically healthy state.

The new project will extend the Government and World Bank's engagement in this critical national programme to make the Ganga a clean, healthy river. The World Bank has been supporting the government's efforts since 2011 through the ongoing National Ganga River Basin Project (NGRBP). This has helped in the creation of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) as the nodal agency to manage the river and financed sewage treatment infrastructure in several riverside towns and cities.

According to the release, the Ganga Basin provides over one-third of India's surface water, includes the country's largest irrigated area, and is key to India's water and food security. Over 40 per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP) is generated in the densely populated Basin. However, the river at present is facing pressures from human and economic activities, which have an impact on the quality of the water it carries while flowing. Over 80 per cent of the pollution load in Ganga comes from untreated domestic wastewater from town and cities along the river and its tributaries.

The SNGRBP will finance sewage networks and treatment plants in select urban areas to help control pollution discharges. These infrastructure investments and the jobs they will generate will also help India's economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, the World Bank said.