New Delhi, Feb 8 (PTI) Out of the total 457 projects taken up under the Namami Gange Programme at an estimated cost of Rs 38,438.05 crore till December 31, 280 projects have been completed and made operational, Lok Sabha was told on Thursday.
Most of the projects pertain to the creation of sewage infrastructure as untreated domestic and industrial waste water is the main source of pollution in the river, Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu told Lok Sabha in a written reply.
A total of 198 sewerage infrastructure projects have been taken up with a cost of Rs 31,575.84 crore for the creation and rehabilitation of 6,208.12 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage treatment plant (STP) capacity.
Out of these, 111 sewerage projects have been completed, resulting in the creation and rehabilitation of 2,844 MLD of sewage treatment capacity, he stated.
From the inception of the Namami Gange Programme in financial year 2014-15 till 2022-23, the government of India has released Rs 14,329.72 crore to the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) for the implementation of projects under the Namami Gange Programme, Tudu said.
The NMCG has released or disbursed Rs 13,735.40 crore to various agencies during the said period, out of which Rs 13,286.84 crore has been utilised.
Further, in FY 2023-24, an amount of Rs 2,131.93 crore has been released by the Centre to the NMCG up to December 31, 2023, out of which Rs 1,930.57 crore has been released or disbursed to various agencies.
Thus, a total amount of Rs 16,461.65 crore has been released by the Union government to the NMCG since the inception of the Namami Gange Programme up to December 31, 2023, and NMCG has released or disbursed Rs 15,665.97 crore to various implementation agencies, Tudu said in the reply.
The Namami Gange Programme was launched to rejuvenate the river Ganga and its tributaries.
Under the programme, a comprehensive set of interventions for pollution abatement measures to tackle different sources of pollution such as municipal sewage, industrial effluent, municipal solid waste and interventions for improving ecological flows, biodiversity conservation, afforestation, improving amenities and sanitation at river banks, capacity building, research and monitoring, public awareness and the likes have been taken up for the rejuvenation of river Ganga and its tributaries, the minister stated. PTI PLB KSS KSS
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