The Union government spent more than Rs 13,000 crore on cleaning the Ganga since 2014, with Uttar Pradesh receiving the largest outlay among states, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is learnt to have informed the National Ganga Council on Friday. The council, which met after three years, was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through video conference. Modi was scheduled to travel to Kolkata for the meeting but addressed it virtually owing to the demise of his mother. It is learnt that the NMCG, which is responsible for implementation of the government’s ambitious Namami Gange programme, provided a detailed financial progress report in the agenda note prepared for the council meeting. As per the details available, the Centre has released a total of Rs 13,709.72 crore to the NMCG from the financial year 2014-15 till October 31, 2022. Most of that sum — Rs 13,046.81 crore — was “released/expended” by the NMCG to state governments, State Missions for Clean Ganga (SMCG) and other agencies for implementation of projects under the programme. And out of this, Rs 4,205.41 crore was released to Uttar Pradesh, the highest among states. About 1,100 km of the Ganga’s 2,525-km length falls in Uttar Pradesh. The expenditure makes up around two-thirds of the budget allocated for the programme. The Centre had launched the Namami Gange Programme in June 2014, with a total budgetary outlay of Rs.20,000 crore. Uttar Pradesh was followed by Bihar (Rs 3,516.63 crore), West Bengal (Rs 1,320.39 crore), Delhi (Rs 1,253.86 crore) and Uttarakhand (Rs 1,117.34 crore). The other states which received funds under the Namami Gange programme were: Jharkhand (Rs 250 crore), Haryana (Rs 89.61 crore), Rajasthan (Rs 71.25 crore), Himachal Pradesh (Rs 3.75 crore) and Madhya Pradesh (Rs 9.89 crore). The government had launched Namami Gange in 2014-15 for a period up to March 31, 2021 to “rejuvenate” the Ganga and its tributaries. The programme was later extended for another 5 years till March 31, 2026.
