Namami Gange: NMCG completes 22 projects, sanctions 17 during Covid-truncated 2020
Despite picking up pace of execution of projects in recent months, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has only completed 22 projects and sanctioned 17 new projects related to sewerage infrastructure, ghat and crematoria, pollution abatement, afforestation and biodiversity during 2020 entailing a total cost of Rs 557.83 crore as part of the Namami Gange scheme.
Till the end of December 2020, the installed sewage treatment capacity along the Ganga River had reached just 1082 million litre per day (MLD), which is less than one-third of the overall targeted 3785 MLD while sewage network to the tune of 3340 km had been laid as against an overall target of 5066-kms.
According to NMCG officials, a total of 334 projects, including sewage infrastructure projects have been sanctioned under Namami Gange programme at a cost of Rs 28,854 crore. While 140 projects have been completed till December 2020, as many as 157 are in progress and 27 were in the tendering stage. Only 10 projects are left to be tendered.
The Centre’s flagship Namami Gange programme is an integrated conservation mission to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of Ganga River.
NMCG officials said the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga), a think tank of NMCG, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) for development of sludge management framework in India. The MoU was part of efforts by NMCG to bring Norwegian technology companies and Indian business leaders in the water sector together to explore joint projects to take advantage of Norwegian technology.
Meanwhile, the National Green Tribunal has extended the term of an oversight committee that was set up to monitor pollution of Ganga River and oversee compliance of environmental norms in Uttar Pradesh.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice AK Goel recently noted that the committee’s term should not end abruptly without the Uttar Pradesh Government managing to set up any other effective alternative mechanism. The bench said the term of the oversight committee would be extended for six months for now and the green tribunal was open to any suggestion from the Uttar Pradesh Government in this regard.
“We also request the oversight committee to monitor compliance of directions to oversee preparation of District Environment Management Plans (DEMPs) and their execution by the District Environment Committees (DECs) in terms of order of this tribunal,” the bench said.
The NGT noted that initially the tenure of the oversight committee headed by former high court judge Justice SVS Rathore was for six months which was subsequently extended at different intervals.
The oversight committee had replaced earlier committees that were appointed by the NGT to monitor pollution in the Ganga, rejuvenation of Hindon River and associated issues, sand mining at Allahabad, pollution of thermal power stations in Singrauli, pollution of Ramgarh lake and River Ami in Gorakhpur, solid and biomedical waste management norms.
