(Feature Image: Najafgarh drain at Wazirabad barrage Delhi in June 2023. Bhim Singh Rawat/SANDRP)

A careful reading of the PIB release on the statement of Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Shri Bishweswar Tudu in Rajya Sabha on Dec. 04 regarding Namami Gange Program shows that the NMCG has actually failed to make any significant improvement in cleaning of River Ganga so far. Firstly, the program has been extended upto March 2026 without any course correction during its first 7 years of implementation between June 2014 and March 2021.

Secondly, the program since beginning has primarily been focusing on creation and upgradation of sewage treatment capacity and river bank infrastructures without even looking into the root causes including ineffective and undemocratic governance affecting the ecosystem of Ganga rivers let alone the questions of addressing them.

Continue reading “DRP 111223: NMCG failure: Wither Ganga Rejuvenation?” →