India, Dec. 4 -- The Government of India has issued a release:
State
2018 Polluted Stretch
Priority (2018)
2025 Polluted Stretch
Priority (2025)
Trend / Observation
Uttarakhand
Haridwar → Sultanpur
IV
No PRS
-
Improved and PRS stretch removed
Uttar Pradesh
Kannauj → Varanasi
IV
Bijnor → Tarighat
IV / V
Partially improved
Bihar
Buxar to Bhagalpur
V
Bhagalpur D/S → Khalgaon D/S
V
Marginal pollution remains
Jharkhand
No PRS
-
No PRS
-
-
West Bengal
Triveni → Diamond Harbour
III
Baharampore → Diamond Harbour
V
improved
As per the available information, total sewage generated in the 5 Ganga States (main stem) is about 10,160 MLD against which the available STP capacity of 7820 MLD and to bridge the gap, the projects of 1,996 MLD are at various stages of completion.
The major reasons for delays in the initiation as well as completion of the project are following:
To address and overcome these challenges, the Nation Mission for Clean Ganga has been actively involved in closely monitoring the status of the projects including preparation of fresh DPRs. NMCG regularly conducts comprehensive review meetings under the chairmanship of the competent authority and through the Central Monitoring Committee (CMC) to evaluate the progress, identify roadblocks and ensure timely resolutions.
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.
· Farrukhabad to Purana Rajapur, Kanpur.
· Dalmau, Raibareilly.
· D/s Mirzapur to Tarighat, Ghazipur (except two locations namely U/s Varanasi, After confluence Gomti & U/s Ghazipur) in Uttar Pradesh.
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.
The population of dolphins in the river Ganga has shown a marked increase over the past decade. From an estimated baseline of 2500 to 3000 individuals in 2009, the population rose to approximately 3500 in 2015 and further to around 6327 individuals as per the nationwide survey conducted during 2021-2023. This represents more than a twofold increase since 2009. In the Ganga basin the 2021-2023 assessment across 17 tributaries confirmed dolphin presence in multiple rivers where they were previously unrecorded, such as the Rupnarayan, Girwa, Kauriyala, Baba, Rapti, Bagmati, Mahananda, Ken, Betwa, and Sind.
The steps taken by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) for improving the water quality along the river Ganga and its tributaries are as under:
Cleaning of river is a continuous process and Government of India is supplementing the efforts of the State Governments in addressing the challenges of pollution in river Ganga and its tributaries by providing financial and technical assistance under Namami Gange Programme.
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.
