For conservation and rejuvenation of rivers, Jal Shakti Ministry has been supplementing efforts of the States/Union Territories (UTs) by providing financial and technical assistance for abatement of pollution in identified polluted stretches of rivers in the country through the Central Sector Scheme of Namami Gange for River Ganga and its tributaries, and the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for other rivers. Sewerage infrastructure and setting up of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in polluting towns/cities along the rivers are the important components of these programs.

In addition, Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has recently released Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for Rejuvenation of 13 major rivers prepared by Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun in consultation with the State Forest Departments and other line Departments. These 13 rivers are Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum, Luni, Yamuna, Mahanadi, Brahmaputra, Narmada, Cauvery, including Godavari and Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. Proposed outlay of these 13 DPRs is Rs.19,342.63 crore under 4 major components viz: implementation of forestry interventions, strengthening knowledge management & national capacity development, maintenance phase including scaling-up replication of successful models, and national coordination for forestry interventions and river conservation.

Works proposed under these DPRs include afforestation on river banks leading to increased green cover, measures to contain soil erosion, recharge ground water table, sequester carbon dioxide, catchment area treatment, ecological restoration, moisture conservation, livelihood improvement & income generation, ecotourism by developing river fronts, eco-parks and bringing awareness amongst the masses for improvement of water quality & flow in rivers.

These works are expected to be executed through the State Forest Departments together with State Agriculture, Horticulture, Urban Municipal Bodies & Rural Development, etc.

This information was given by the Minister of State, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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