Rs 8649 Crore sanction for River conservation

     Raipur, July 26, 2024: The Central Government has sanctioned Rs 8649.67 crore for the ambitious National River Conservation plan (NRCP).

     The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti has been supplementing efforts of the states and union territories by providing financial and technical assistance for abatement of pollution in the identified stretches of rivers in the country through the Central Sector Scheme of Namami Gange for river Ganga and its tributaries, and the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for other rivers, Jal Shakti Ministry said.

     NRCP has so far covered 53 rivers in 98 towns spreading over 17 States in the country with a sanctioned cost of Rs 8649.67 crore and inter-alia, a sewage treatment capacity of 2910.50 million litres per day (MLD) has been created, the Ministry said.

     Under Namami Gange programme, a total of 467 projects, including 200 projects for sewage treatment of 6217.15 MLD and a sewer network of 5282.39 kilometers, have been sanctioned at a cost of Rs. 39,080.70 crore against which sewerage treatment capacity of 3241.55 MLD has been created so far.

     In addition, sewerage infrastructure projects funded by Government of India under programs like Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation and Smart Cities Mission of Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs also contribute to cleaning rivers, the Ministry said.

     Rivers are polluted mainly due to discharge of untreated and partially treated sewage from cities and towns and industrial effluents in their respective catchments, poor operation and maintenance of sewage or effluent treatment plants, lack of dilution and non-point sources of pollution like agricultural runoff, open defecation, runoff from solid waste dump sites, etc.

     It is the primary responsibility of States and Union Territories (UTs), urban local bodies, industrial units to ensure required treatment of sewage and industrial effluent before discharging into rivers and other recipient water bodies, land or coastal waters for prevention and control of pollution therein.