Operation & Maintenance including cleanliness of Ghats on the shores of river Ganga is being done by local Municipal Corporation or Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). However, the following steps have been taken under Namami Gange Programme to enhance the cleanliness on the shores of river Ganga: –
- Nearly 4500 villages on the bank of river Ganga have been made Open Defecation Free (ODF) by constructing about 13 lacs individual household toilets.
- Mechanical trash skimmers and floating boom barriers are being deployed at 9 priority towns along main-stem of Ganga to arrest the floating solid waste in the river. These towns are Haridwar, Allahabad, Kanpur, Varanasi, Garmukteshwar, Patna, Sahibganj, Kolkata and Nabadwip where collected waste is transported to the identified disposal point from where it is transported to designated site on a daily basis.
- IL&FS Environmental Infrastructure and Services Ltd. (IEISL) has been engaged under a tripartite agreement amongst NMCG, Varanasi Nagar Nigam and IEISL for cleaning of 84 ghats in Varanasi for 3 years at a cost of Rs 5.0 crores per year to ensure proper solid waste disposal and keeping the ghats neat & clean.
- 155 ghats and 67 crematoria have been sanctioned as part of Entry Level Activities.
- Under Public Outreach Activities of NMCG, campaigns have been carried out from time to time by NMCG like Ganga Swachhta Pakhwada, Swachta Hi Seva, Ganga NirikshanYatra etc. to take clean Ganga message to masses and maximize the public participation
Under the Namami Gange programme, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has undertaken a project in which it is carrying out the water quality monitoring of river Ganga from Gangotri to West Bengal. Water quality monitoring data of CPCB for the period 2015-17 indicates that Dissolved Oxygen (DO) has been found to be within acceptable limits of notified primary water quality criteria for bathing. Further, the river water quality monitoring carried out in 2017 indicates improvement in water quality trends as compared to 2016. The Dissolved Oxygen levels are improving at 33 locations, Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) levels at 26 locations and coliform bacteria count at 30 locations.
This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr. Satya Pal Singh in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
