Under Namami Gange Programme, a comprehensive set of interventions such as wastewater treatment, solid waste management, river front management (ghats and crematoria development), e-flow, afforestation, biodiversity conservation and Public Participation etc. have been taken up for rejuvenation of river Ganga and its tributaries. So far, a total of 442 projects have been taken up at an estimated cost of Rs. 37,395.51 Crore, out of which 254 projects have been completed. Majority of the projects pertain to creation of sewage infrastructure as the untreated domestic/industrial wastewater is the main reason for pollution in the river. 193 sewerage infrastructure projects have been taken up with a cost of Rs. 30,797.24 crore for creation & rehabilitation of 6029.75 Million Litres per Day (MLD) of Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) capacity and laying of around 5,250.98 km sewerage network. Out of these, 106 sewerage projects have been completed and balance are at various stages of implementation. With the completed projects, 2664.05 MLD STP capacity has been created/rehabilitated and 4436.26 km sewer network has been laid.

Namami Gange Programme was launched in June 2014 for a period up to 31^st March, 2021 to rejuvenate River Ganga and its tributaries. The programme was subsequently extended up to 31^stMarch, 2026. A total sum of Rs.15,517.02 crore were released to the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), from Financial Year 2014-15 till 30 June 2023, out of which Rs.14,796.46 crore have been released/disbursed by NMCG to various agencies for implementation of projects under the Programme during the said period.

The Ministry of Jal Shakti has formulated a “National Framework for Sediment Management (October 2022)” for managing sediments in a holistic manner. This framework lays emphasis on sediment management through integrated river basin management plan. It provides reference of all existing guidelines/ policies dealing with the various aspects of sediment management and it will facilitate the stakeholders, particularly State Governments, in planning strategies and implementation of projects for sediment management in watershed, rivers, reservoirs, lakes/water bodies etc.

National Workshop on Sediment Management was organised by Ministry of Jal Shakti on June 19, 2023 to sensitize all stakeholders about the present critical issues of sedimentation in rivers and reservoirs.

Erosion, movement and deposition of sediment in river are natural regulating functions of a river. Rivers tend to maintain a balance between the silt load carried & silt load deposited, maintaining a river regime. Rivers pickup, carry and drop silt load as per their regime conditions i.e. discharge in the river, river slope, morphology, nature of silt etc. River is a dynamic system and changes in the river bed profile are expected due to aggradation and degradation characteristics of the river, which broadly depend upon the flow and sediment concentration. The location of aggradation and degradation also changes year to year.

Floods of varying magnitudes have been experienced due multiple reasons in various rivers of the country including rivers in Bihar. However, latest study in main Ganga doesn't shows major changes in the simulated bed profile of the river at different locations over a 30-year period. Simulation of impact of a 100-year flood also on river bed profile also has not shown major changes.

Cleaning of river is a continuous process and Government of India is supplementing the efforts of the State Governments in addressing the challenges of pollution in river Ganga and its tributaries including Yamuna by providing financial and technical assistance under Namami Gange Programme. The projects are now taken their paces and efforts are being made to complete the projects by their scheduled completion timelines.

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

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