The 51st meeting of the executive committee of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) was held on 12 October 2023

The executive committee of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in the 51st meeting has approved seven projects worth around Rs 285 crore. The meeting was held on 12 October 2023.

For sewerage management, three projects were sanctioned – two in West Bengal and one in Uttarakhand – including a 13.8 MLD Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) with co-treatment of 18.52 KLD septage and allied works at an estimated cost of Rs. 92.83 crore to stop the untreated discharge into River Jalangi in Krishnanagar Municipal Town. The other project pertains to integrated sewage management for Bansberia Municipality by creating a 15 KLD capacity Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant (FSTP). Another FSTP of 50 KLD was approved at a total cost of Rs. 12.65 crore in Bahadrabad, Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

The EC (Executive Committee) also approved the extension of the Composite Ecological Task Force (Ganga Task Force) to continue assisting the rejuvenation of River Ganga. In addition, one company of the Territorial Army to the GTF was also approved for rejuvenation of River Gomti, a tributary of River Ganga. The total cost of the project is Rs. 134.86 crore. The GTF would engage in tasks like afforestation, patrolling of vulnerable river areas for the protection of biodiversity, patrolling along river banks by boats and on foot, patrolling of ghats, monitoring of river pollution, management of public awareness/participation campaigns, and assistance during floods and other natural disasters in the area. The project pertaining to “Fish stock enhancement including Hilsa and livelihood improvement for sustainable fisheries and conservation in River Ganga” implemented by ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI) under the Namami Gange Programme was also extended and expanded at an estimated cost of Rs. 31.38 crore considering the success in the past few years.

For wetland conservation, a proposal envisaging effective management of Kalewala Jheel in Muzaffarnagar, Numaiya Dahi Jheel (Kheduva Taal) in Prayagraj and Dahtal Reoti wetland in Ballia District was also approved. These proposals will enable the integration of biological diversity and ecosystem service values in river basin conservation and developmental planning of these important wetlands. The project includes maintaining hydrological connectivity with the wetland catchment, promoting good agricultural practices, maintaining the naturalness of shorelines, maintaining and improving habitat quality to support the diversity of wetland-dependent species, enhancing awareness of wetlands biodiversity and ecosystem services amongst stakeholders, and promoting local stakeholder participation in wetlands management.