changeadminIn a significant push towards holistic river and environmental rejuvenation, the 62nd Executive Committee (EC) Meeting of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), chaired by Mr Rajeev Kumar Mital, Director-General, NMCG, focused on sustainability in river rejuvenation.
NMCG or Namami Gange Programme is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as ‘Flagship Programme’ by the Indian Government in June 2014 with a budget outlay of Rs 20,000 crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
Conservation of critical wetlands and promoting the reuse of treated wastewater through city-specific reuse plans were deliberated in the meeting. The Executive Committee approved projects that align with the mission’s objectives of ecosystem restoration across the Ganga basin.
In another important development, the EC gave the green light to the “Conserving and Sustainably Managing NathmalpurBhagad (Wetland) in Bhojpur District, Bihar” project, with an estimated cost of Rs 3.51 crore. The project is the fifth wetland being undertaken under NGP.
So far, under Namami Gange, conservation of 4 wetlands has already been sanctioned at:
- KalewadaJheel, Muzaffarnagar, UP
- Namiya Dah Jheel,Prayagraj, UP
- Reoti Dah Wetland, Ballia, UP
- Udhwa Lake (Ramsar Site), Sahibganj, Jharkhand
It focuses on integrating biodiversity and ecosystem service values into river basin conservation and developmental planning. The project proposes a dual approach with interventions at the sub-basin (Ghaghara, Gomti and Sone confluence) and site levels (NathmalpurBhagad), including activities such as wetland delineation, hydrological regime enhancement, species and habitat conservation, ecological assessment, risk evaluation, capacity building, communication and outreach, and monitoring mechanisms to ensure the long-term health and sustainability of the wetland ecosystem.
The EC also approved funding of Rs 34.50 lakh for the “Capacity Building Initiatives for making water-sensitive cities in the Ganga Basin” project for the preparation of City Plans and training on the reuse of treated wastewater for Agra and Prayagraj Districts in Uttar Pradesh.
The project aims at the preparation of a city-level reuse plan aligned to the National Framework for Safe Reuse of Treated Water (SRTW) developed by NMCG.
These project approvals reaffirm NMCG’s commitment to integrated water management and environmental restoration. As the Mission continues to evolve, such strategic decisions will play a pivotal role in achieving the vision of a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable river ecosystem for future generations.
It may be noted that the Namami Gange program has been recognised as one of the Top 1o World Restoration Flagship initiatives by the UN Decade (UNEP and FAO).
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