The Union Cabinet  has given its approval for the ambitious Namami Gange Program which integrates the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner. The total budget for the program is Rs. 20,000 crore for the next 5 years. This is a significant four-fold increase over the expenditure in the past 30 years.

The program would be implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). A three-tier mechanism has been proposed for project monitoring. They are

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

c) District level committee chaired by the District Magistrate.

Main Focus of Namami Gange

• Diversion & treatment of waste water by bio-remediation
• Appropriate in-situ treatment
• Use of innovative technologies
• Sewage treatment plants
• Effluent treatment plant
• Rehabilitation and augmentation of existing STPs
• Immediate short term measures to prevent inflow of sewage.

Tidbits

• The Ganges begins at the confluence of the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda rivers at Devprayag.
• The 2,525 km river rises in the western Himalayas in the state of Uttarakhand, flows through the North Indian states, enters Bangladesh, and drains into Bay of Bengal.
• The Ganga Action Plan, an environmental initiative to clean up the river, has been a major failure due to corruption, lack of proper planning and lack of technical expertise.
• After entering Bangladesh, the main branch of the Ganges is known as the Padma.