The document discusses the Ganga Rejuvenation Programme of the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation in India. It summarizes the Ganga Action Plan Phases I and II, which aimed to improve water quality in the Ganga river by building sewage treatment plants. It then discusses the establishment of the Clean Ganga Fund and the current Namami Gange Mission, which takes a holistic, multi-sectoral approach to long-term conservation of the river. The action plan for Namami Gange focuses on short-term priorities like upgrading sewage treatment and long-term infrastructure projects and initiatives around ensuring sustainable management of municipal sewage, rural sewage, industrial discharge, and

1. H K SAHU
Member Secretary
Upper Yamuna River Board
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development
and Ganga Rejuvenation
New Delhi, India
Ganga Rejuvenation Programme
of
Ministry of WR, RD and GR
International Conference on Sustainable Clean Ganga Mission: Opportunities and challenges
12th December 2014, New Delhi

2. Ganga Rejuvenation Programme
• Ganga (Bhagirathi) rises from the Gangotri Glacier.
• At Devprayag it is known as Ganga.
• Ganga Basin is the largest river basin of the country.
• Basin houses about 40% population of India.
• After traversing a distance of 2525 km it meets Bay of
Bengal at Ganga Sagar.
• Ganga is polluted during course of its journey by
municipal sewage from large urban centers, effluents
from industries and polluting waste from several other
non-point sources.

3. Ganga Action Plan Phase-I
Main objective of GAP was to improve the water quality of
Ganga to acceptable standards by preventing the pollution load
reaching the river. The objective of GAP was recast in June 1987
as restoring the river water quality to the 'Bathing Class'
standard .
FACTS
• DATE OF LAUNCH : June 1985
• ORIGINAL SANCTIONED COST : Rs. 256.26 crores
• DATE OF REVISED APPROVAL : August 1994
• REVISED SANCTIONED COST : Rs. 462.04 crores expenditure 433.3 crores
• TOWNS COVERED : 25 towns of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
• DECLARED CLOSED ON : March 2000
• Total wastewater estimated : 1340 MLD
• Capacity created : 869MLD by 34 STP

4. Ganga Action Plan Phase-II
• Phase II of Ganga Action Plan was started in stages between 1993 & 1996.
• Jharkhand; Uttarakhand; Delhi and Haryana states included.
Objectives
• Improving water quality of river Ganga.
• To serve as a model to demonstrate the methodology for improving the
water quality of other polluted rivers.
• 441 projects in 95 cities under the plan.
Funding
• Central & State Government Provided Share of 50:50.
• After April 1997 Central Government took the full responsibility of the
project.
• Government sanctioned Rs.2285.48 crore.
• Implementation of the plan commenced w.e.f. 1.4.2001.
• The funding pattern changed to 70:30 between center and state
subsequently.

5. Clean Ganga Fund
Union Cabinet has now approved establishment of Clean Ganga
Fund for its ‘Namami Gange’ programme.
Activities to be funded:
• Control of non-point pollution from agricultural runoff,
human defecation, cattle wallowing, etc.
• Setting up of waste treatment and disposal plants along the
river around the cities.
• Conservation of the biotic diversity of the river.
• Community based activities to reduce polluting human
interface with the river.
• Development of public amenities including activities such as
Ghat redevelopment.
• Research and Development projects and innovative projects
for new technology and processes for cleaning the river.

6. Namami Gange Mission
• Substantial amount of money spent in the conservation
and improvement of the Ganga.
• Efforts have not yielded desired results because of the lack
of concerted efforts by all the stakeholders.
• Ganga Rejuvenation is now recognised as multi-sectoral,
multi-dimensional and multi-stakeholder challenge.
• Union Budget 2014-15 has provided Rs. 2,037 crores.
• In addition a sum of Rs. 100 crores has been allocated for
developments of Ghats and beautification of River Fronts at
Kedarnath, Haridwar, Kanpur, Varanasi, Allahabad and
Patna .
• Namami Gange consolidates ongoing efforts and planning
for a concrete action plan for future.
• The interventions at Ghats and River fronts will facilitate
better citizen connect and set the tone for river centric
urban planning process.

7. Namami Gange Mission
• Key Ministries comprising of (a) WR, RD&GR, (b)
Environment, Forests & Climate Change, (c) Shipping, (d)
Tourism, (e) Urban Development, (f) Drinking Water and
Sanitation and Rural Development have been working
together since June, 2014 to arrive at an action plan.
• Group of Secretaries has been constituted to develop a
draft action plan which submitted its initial report on 21st
July, 2014 and after taking into account the feedback
received from the Hon’ble Ministers, has submitted the
final report on 28th August, 2014.
• Ganga River Basin Management Plan is being prepared by
the Consortium of 7 IITs, first version of which is likely to be
available shortly.

8. ACTION PLAN
• Identified main Short term activities:
• Rehabilitation and up-gradation of existing STPs along Ganga
• 100% sewerage infrastructure in identified towns alongside Ganga
• In situ sewage treatment in open drains
• Ghat’s developments in selected cities and towns
• Industrial pollution abatement at Kanpur on priority
• Capacity building of urban local bodies
• Afforestation – Conservation of Flora
• Conservation of Aquatic life – Dolphin, Turtles and Ghariyals
• Disposal of flowers and other puja material
• GIS data and Spatial Analysis for Ganga basin
• Study of communities depending on Ganga for their livelihood
• Establishing National Ganga Monitoring Centre
• Special guidelines for sand mining in Ganga
• Communication and Public Outreach Activities

9. ACTION PLAN
Medium term infrastructure and non-infrastructure interventions for
implementation of long term vision:
(i) Nirmal Dhara- ensuring sustainable municipal sewage management
• Incentive for states to take up projects on Ganga Main-stem by providing
an additional share of central grants for sewerage infrastructure.
• 10 years mandatory O&M by the same service provider at par with NGRBA
programme and PPP, Mandatory reuse of treated water
• Expanding coverage of sewerage infrastructure in 118 urban habitations on
banks of Ganga- by MoUD with estimated cost of Rs 51000 Crores
(ii) Nirmal Dhara- managing sewage from Rural Areas
• Mo DWS scheme for all Ganga bank Gram Panchayts (1632) free from open
defecation by 2022, at a cost of Rs 1700 Crores as central share
(iii) Nirmal Dhara- managing Industrial discharge
• Making ZLD mandatory
• Rationalized water tariff to encourage reuse
• Real time water quality monitoring
(iv) Aviral Dhara
• Enforcing River Regulatory Zones on Ganga Banks
• Rational agricultural practices, efficient irrigation methods
• Restoration and conservation of wetlands
(v) Ensuring conservation of aquatic life and biodiversity
(vi) Promotion of Tourism and Shipping in a rational and sustainable manner

10. Thanks