Namami Gange Project

On July 7, 2016, the Centre announced the commencement of the much-delayed Namami Gange project across all five basin states of the River Ganga. Namami Gange or the integrated Ganga conservation mission has been a sore point for the Modi government as the flagship programme had failed to take off even two years after it was announced.

In July 2014, Rs 2,037 crore was announced for the purpose; a separate ministry under the Union water resources ministry was created for the river rejuvenation programme and a year later, the Union Cabinet approved an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore for the next five years. Still, any significant impact remained elusive.

Out of the 300 projects ideated in the first phase, foundation stones were laid for 231 National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) projects at various locations in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. In Uttarakhand alone, 47 such projects were inaugurated at various locations, including Dehradun, Garhwal, Tehri garhwal, Rudraprayag, Haridwar and Chamoli districts. Projects were launched simultaneously in over 104 locations, including Delhi and Haryana, according to Down To Earth.

Apart from modernisation and redevelopment of Ghats and crematoriums, the programme involves development of sewage infrastructure and treatment, afforestation, deployment of trash skimmers and conservation of biodiversity. Under this programme, 1,242 ghats and drains in 411 villages have been identified and the work is likely to begin soon. Twenty trash skimmers will be put in operation along the entire stretch of the River Ganga in addition to the five skimmers in operation.

Trees will be planted in 2700 hectare areas along the River Ganga in the current financial year. Apart from the existing 62 monitoring stations (57 manual and five real-time), 113 more real-time stations will be set up by March 2017. Eight biodiversity centres will be developed along the Ganga for conservation of dolphins, turtles and different varieties of fish. These centres will be developed at Rishikesh, Narora, Dehradun, Allahabad, Bhagalpur, Varanasi, Sahibganj and Barrackpore.

Under Ganga Gram Yojana, 400 villages along the river will be developed as Ganga Gram in the first phase. Thirteen IITs have adopted five villages each. The Centre has decided to have an exclusive central law that will not only help the Centre to negotiate works that require inter-state coordination, but also give more power to the existing National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), adds Down To Earth.