National Mission for Clean Ganga

• The Executive Committee of National Mission for Clean Ganga recently approved 7 projects worth Rs 285 crore.

ABOUT NMCG

• NMCG was registered as a society in 2011 under Societies Registration Act 1860.
• It acted as the implementation arm of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA),1986.
• NGRBA was dissolved in 2016 and replaced by the National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection, and Management of River Ganga.
• Nodal Ministry- Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• Objectives–
  • The objective of the NMCG is to reduce pollution and ensure the rejuvenation of the Ganga River by adopting a river basin approach.
    • Namami Gange is one of the Coveted Programmes of NMCG to clean Ganga. It was launched in 2014 with a total budgetary outlay of Rs.20,000 crore.
  • This can be achieved by promoting intersectoral coordination for comprehensive planning & management and maintaining minimum ecological flow in the river, with the aim of ensuring water quality and environmentally sustainable development.
• Organization Structure– The Act envisages a five-tier structure at the national, state, and district levels to take measures for prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution in river Ganga as below–
  • National Ganga Council under the chairmanship of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.
  • Empowered Task Force (ETF) on river Ganga under the chairmanship of Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti (Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation).
  • National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).
  • State Ganga Committees
  • District Ganga Committees in every specified district abutting river Ganga and its tributaries in the states.
• NMCG has a two-tier management structure and comprises of-
  • Governing Council
  • Executive Committee
  • Both are headed by Director General, NMCG.