The 48th meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) approved eight projects worth around Rs 638 crore on Tuesday.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Director General, NMCG G Asok Kumar. In an attempt to clean River Hindon, which is a tributary of River Yamuna, four projects worth Rs 407.39 crore were approved for pollution reduction in the Shamli district.

These projects are part of the comprehensive ‘Hindon Rejuvenation Plan’.
The projects which were sanctioned are to prevent the flow of polluted water into the Krishni River.

Krishni is one of the major tributaries of Hindon which discharges pollution from the Shamli district into River Hindon.

The four projects in Shamli district include the construction of i) 5 Million Litres per Day (MLD) Sewage Treatment Plant (Nirmal Jal Kendra), 5 KLD Septage Co-treatment Facility, Interception & Diversion (I&D) and other works in Babri and Bantikhera villages, ii) 5 MLD STP, 5 KLD Septage Co-treatment Facility, Interception & Diversion (I&D) and other works in Banat town, iii) 40 MLD STP, 20 KLD Septage Co-treatment Facility, Interception & Diversion (I&D) and other works in Shamli town and iv) 10 MLD STP, 10 KLD Septage Co-treatment Facility, Interception & Diversion (I&D) and other works in Thana Bhawan town.

As part of preparations for the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, in 2025, one project for the development of seven ghats in Prayagraj was also approved in the EC meeting.

The ghats include Dashashmedh Ghat, Quila Ghat, Naukayan Ghat, Gyan Ganga Ashram Ghat, Saraswati Ghat, Maheva Ghat and Rasulabad Ghat.
These ghats will have amenities such as an area for bathing, a change room, universal access ramp, drinking water points, flood lights for the night, kiosks, landscaping etc.

Two more sewerage management projects were approved in the 48th EC meeting, one each in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh.

In Bihar, a project to construct three STPs (7 MLD, 3.5 MLD and 6 MLD in Zones 1 and 2 respectively), among other works, was approved at an estimated cost of Rs 77.39 crore. These projects will prevent the flow of polluted water into river Kiul, a tributary of Ganga.

In Madhya Pradesh, one project to construct a 22 MLD STP, 2.38 MLD Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) and other works was approved at a cost of Rs 92.78 crore. This project will prevent the flow of polluted water into river Kshipra, which is a sub-tributary of Yamuna.

During the meeting, G Asok Kumar urged the officials from the States to do solar farming on the STP sites and promote the use of solar power to run the Nirmal Jal Kendras.

He also exhorted the officials to use grills to separate and dispose of solid waste from the drains that are flowing into the rivers.

Pointing out that it is the responsibility of the State Governments to maintain the assets created under Namami Gange Programme, he said, “Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) being adopted by the ULBs for cleaning of existing ghats should be communicated to NMCG.”

Another project for ghat development was approved for Haridwar, Uttarakhand where Akhand Param Dham ghat will be constructed at a total cost of Rs 2.12 crore.

The project includes the construction of a Shop/Kiosk (for Ghat pe Haat activities), a yoga/meditation lawn, a handicap ramp, a promenade, a platform for cultural and religious activities etc.

The meeting was attended by SP Vashishtha, Executive Director (Admin.), NMCG, Bhaskar Dasgupta, Executive Director (Finance), NMCG, DP Mathuria, Executive Director (Technical), NMCG, Richa Misra, Joint Secretary and Financial Advisor, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti and senior officials from the concerned states.