Under a concrete and holistic initiative towards the rejuvenation of Ganga and its tributaries, the 63rd Executive Committee meeting of the National Mission for Clean Ganga was organized. The focus of the meeting was—Sustainability and Innovation—which are completely aligned with the core objectives of the mission such as improving water quality, sustainable urban water management, and restoration of the ecosystem in the Ganga basin.

On this occasion, various projects were approved, which included infrastructure projects, scientific studies, technical solutions, and rejuvenation plans. Their objective is not just short-term improvement, but to ensure long-term and measurable impact, so that the existence of rivers and water bodies remains safe for future generations.

During the meeting, sewage management project in the historic city of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, was approved, with a total budget of ₹126.41 crore. Under this project, 40 interception and diversion structures will be constructed, along with 21.20 kilometers of interception and diversion sewer lines. In addition, 8 modern pumping stations will be installed, and effective trash screens will be placed in 5 major drains to protect water sources from pollution. This project is based on the Design-Build-Operate-Transfer model, which makes it a technically and managerially impactful and long-term solution.

For promoting a deep understanding of environmental flow, the committee approved two major projects: “Environmental Flow Assessment of Kosi, Gandak and Mahananda Rivers” with a budget of approximately ₹6 crore, and “Environmental Flow Assessment in Ghaghara and Gomti River Basins” with an estimated cost of approximately ₹8 crore. These two projects will pave the way for the development of sustainable and adaptive flow regimes in rivers over the next three years.

Further, a project was approved for monitoring the effectiveness and creating guidelines for Johkasou technology-based and other compact plug & play technologies domestic wastewater treatment. This project is being initiated with the objective of strengthening the quality and sustainability of on-site sewage treatment in India.

The meeting approved the project “Conservation and Management of Ramsar Site ‘Asan Wetland’ in Dehradun District of Uttarakhand” with an allocation of Rs 2.47 crore for the next two years. The goal of this initiative is to rejuvenate the biodiversity and ecological health of the wetland. It includes approval for the development of wetland inventory, assessment and monitoring systems along with planning the conservation measures.

This meeting of NMCG was not merely a formal occasion for approval of plans, but the beginning of a new journey — where the depth of tradition and the flight of modern technology, the softness of nature and the strength of science, the spirit of sustainable development and public participation created a wonderful confluence. Every step taken towards a clean, prosperous and vibrant river is not only taking the Namami Gange Mission to new heights, but is also becoming an inspiring example for the entire nation.

The meeting saw the participation of key officials, including: Shri Rajeev Kumar Mital (Director General, NMCG), Shri Mahavir Prasad (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power), Shri Nalin Srivastava (Deputy Director General, NMCG), Shri Anup Kumar Srivastava, Executive Director (Technical), Shri Brijendra Swaroop Executive Director (Project), Shri S.P. Vashishtha Executive Director (Administration), Shri Bhaskar Dasgupta Executive Director (Finance), Ms. Nandini Ghosh, (Project Director of West Bengal), Shri Prabhash Kumar (Additional Project Director from Uttar Pradesh SMCG), Dr. Ramakant Pandey, Managing Director UP Jal Nigam (Urban).

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Dhanya Sanal K

(Release ID: 2130372)