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The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved projects worth around INR 360 crore to improve pollution control and deepen scientific understanding of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. A major approval was a INR 361.86 crore project for Siliguri to intercept 25 drains flowing into the Mahananda and build two STPs of 27 MLD and 22 MLD under a hybrid-annuity model. For Delhi, NMCG cleared works to enhance treated-water flow into the Yamuna, including drain diversion and new pumping and conveyance systems. Several research studies were sanctioned, including glacier-melt analysis in the Upper Ganga Basin, a 1,100-km bathymetric survey, groundwater recharge assessments and development of a Digital Twin platform. A school outreach programme, Youth for Ganga, Youth for Yamuna, was also approved.
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), in its 67th executive committee meeting held earlier this week, cleared infrastructure and scientific interventions worth around INR 360 crore aimed at improving pollution management and strengthening scientific understanding of the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. The meeting was chaired by NMCG Director-General Rajeev Kumar Mital and was attended by senior officials from central agencies and state bodies involved in river conservation. Advertisement
A major approval was a INR 361.86 crore project to manage pollution in Siliguri, West Bengal. The plan covers interception and diversion of 25 drains flowing into the Mahananda River, construction of two sewage treatment plants with capacities of 27 MLD and 22 MLD, and supporting structures such as pumping stations and rising mains. This project will be implemented through a hybrid-annuity public-private partnership model, which has been used in other NMCG projects for long-term operational stability.
For Delhi, the committee approved a project focused on improving treated-water flow into the Yamuna. This includes diverting untreated water from the Jahangirpuri drain, creating a system to convey treated water from the Coronation Pillar STP back into the river, and building pumping stations, rising mains and civil structures such as RCC channels and truss bridges to cross existing drains. These interventions form part of the ongoing Yamuna Action Plan.
To enhance scientific clarity on river systems, NMCG cleared multiple research-based proposals. A INR 3.98 crore study by the National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, will examine glacier retreat patterns and melt-runoff behaviour in the Upper Ganga Basin, with an assessment of risks such as flash floods and glacial lake outburst floods. Another study will conduct a SONAR-based bathymetric survey of a 1,100-km stretch of the Ganga from Bijnor to Ballia to support sediment-management planning and refine environmental-flow assessments.
The committee also approved a INR 242.56 lakh project to evaluate groundwater recharge potential through paleochannels in the Ganga-Yamuna Doab, covering the region between Kaushambi and Kanpur. In addition, a INR 3.31 crore initiative will support development of a Digital Twin platform along with a water-cycle atlas for the Ganga basin, and a separate INR 2.62 crore project will digitise historic geospatial maps for long-term monitoring of river morphology and floodplain changes.
To promote citizen participation, the committee backed a school-level programme titled Youth for Ganga, Youth for Yamuna. This initiative aims to engage more than 2.5 lakh students across 200 schools in the Delhi-NCR region through awareness activities and river-related learning modules.
Over the past few years, NMCG has increasingly combined infrastructure development with advanced scientific tools. The newly cleared studies add to the wider programme of river-basin management, under which several hundred projects covering sewage treatment, riverfront improvements, and ecological restoration have already been undertaken across multiple states.
Source PTI
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