India, April 2 -- The Government of India has issued a release:
State
2018 Polluted
Priority
2025 Polluted Stretch
Priority
Trend/Observation
Uttarakhand
Haridwar
IV
No PRS
-
Improved and PRS stretch removed
Uttar Pradesh
Kannauj ->
IV
Bijnor -> Tarighat
IV / V
Partially improved
Bihar
Buxar to
V
Bhagalpur D/S->
V
Marginal pollution remains
Jharkhand
No PRS
-
No PRS
-
-
West Bengal
Triveni ->
III
Baharampore ->
V
improved
Stretch
(2018)
(2025)
->
Varanasi
Bhagalpur
Khalgaon D/S
Diamond
Diamond Harbour
Sultanpur
Harbour
The Government of India has been supplementing efforts of the States/UTs by providing financial and technical assistance for the abatement of pollution in rivers/tributaries in the Ganga basin through the Central Sector Scheme of Namami Gange Programme (NGP), and the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) for other rivers.
The Government of India (GoI) launched the Namami Gange Programme (NGP) in 2014-15 for the rejuvenation of river Ganga and its tributaries for five years, up to March 2021 and has been further extended to March 2026. Under the Namami Gange Programme, a diverse and holistic set of interventions for cleaning and rejuvenation of river Ganga have been taken up, that includes wastewater treatment, riverfront management, ensuring e- flow, rural sanitation, afforestation, biodiversity conservation, public participation. As of February, 2026, a total of 524 projects have been sanctioned at a cost of Rs. 43,030 crores, out of which 355 projects have been completed.
NRCP is taking up various pollution abatement works relating to interception & diversion of raw sewage, construction of sewerage systems, setting up of sewage treatment plants, low-cost sanitation, river front/bathing ghat development, etc for the rivers of the country except rivers part of Ganga Basin. So far, NRCP has covered 58 rivers in 100 towns spread over 17 States in the country at a total sanctioned cost of Rs. 8,970.51 crores, and sewage treatment capacity of 3,019 million litres per day (MLD) has been created.
The various measures under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) are as follows:
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), carries out manual water quality monitoring of the river Ganga at 112 locations across five Ganga main-stem States- Uttarakhand-19; Uttar Pradesh-41; Bihar-33; Jharkhand-04; and West Bengal-15.
As per CPCB report on Polluted River Stretch (PRS) 2025 following information about Ganga main stem pollution is available:
Ganga Main Stem - State-wise Comparison (2018 vs 2025)
Based on the water quality data (median values) of the river Ganga for the year 2025 (January to August), the following observations are made.
As per the biomonitoring conducted during 2024-25 at 50 locations along river Ganga and its tributaries and 26 locations along River Yamuna and its tributaries, the biological water quality (BWQ) predominantly ranged from 'Good' to 'Moderate'. The presence of diverse benthic macro-invertebrate species indicates the ecological potential of the rivers to sustain aquatic life.
Science-based species restoration programme, rescue, and rehabilitation programme for aquatic species like Dolphins, Otters, Hilsa, Turtles, and Ghariyal in collaboration with Wild Life Institute of India (WII), Dehradun and State Forest Department, have shown marked improvements in biodiversity with increased sightings of Dolphins, Otters, Hilsa, Turtles, and other riverine species.
Under NGP, for industrial pollution abatement, 3 nos. of Common Effluent Treatment Plants (CETPs) have been sanctioned, i.e., Jajmau CETP (20 MLD), Banther CETP (4.5 MLD), and Mathura CETP (6.25 MLD). Two projects, Mathura CETP (6.25 MLD) and Jajmau CETP (20 MLD), have been completed. Further, the Annual inspection of Grossly Polluting Industries (GPIs) started in 2017. These efforts have resulted in a reduction in BOD load from 26 tons per day (TPD) in 2017 to 10.75 TPD in 2024, and about 23.9 % reduction in effluent discharge from 349 MLD in 2017 to 265.56 MLD in 2024.
The information was provided by THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI SHRI RAJ BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
