Current Affairs: Namami Gange Programme

Namami Ganga Yojana

The NDA Government on Thursday 07.07.2016 launched Namami Gange Programme that includes 231 projects, including installation of sewage treatment plants and ghat constructions, at over 100 locations in seven states with an estimated cost of Rs 1,500 crore. Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, Uma Bharati and Mahesh Sharma and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat launched 43 such projects in Haridwar. 

The projects, aimed at cleaning the River Ganga and ensuring its unfettered flow, were launched simultaneously at 103 locations in five basin states of the river - Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, besides Delhi and Haryana through which Ganga's tributary Yamuna passes. 

About National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) 

• National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is the implementation wing of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA). It is a registered society originally formed by Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change(MoEFCC) on 12th August 2011 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. As per the 306th amendment in the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961, both NGRBA and NMCG are allocated to the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation(MoWR,RD &GR). 

Ganga -A National River

• The Himalayas are the source of three major Indian rivers namely the Indus, the Ganga and the Brahmaputra. Ganga drains a basin of extraordinary variation in altitude,climate, land use, flora & fauna, social and cultural life.Ganga has been a cradle of human civilization since time immemorial. 

• Millions depend on this great river for physical and spiritual sustenance. People have immense faith in the powers of healing and regeneration of the Ganga. It is arguably the most sacred river in the world and is deeply revered by the people of this country. 

• The River plays a vital role in religious ceremonies and rituals. To bathe in Ganga is a lifelong ambition of many who congregate in large numbers for several river centered festivals such as Kumbh Mela and numerous Snan (bath) festivals.