Evaluate the effectiveness of the Namami Gange Programme in achieving its twin objectives of pollution abatement and river rejuvenation. What structural reforms are needed?

Q. Evaluate the effectiveness of the Namami Gange Programme in achieving its twin objectives of pollution abatement and river rejuvenation. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Launched in June 2014 with a ₹20,000 crore outlay and restructured under the River Ganga Authorities Order of October 7, 2016 [1], Namami Gange has delivered measurable gains in pollution abatement but has fallen short on ecological rejuvenation, which demands floodplain and flow restoration rather than infrastructure alone.

Achievements in pollution abatement - Sewage infrastructure at scale: sewerage projects under the mission have created treatment capacity of over 4,000 MLD, with a majority of sanctioned projects completed [3]. - Institutional continuity: approval of Namami Gange Mission-II (₹22,500 crore till 2026) signals sustained financing rather than the stop-go pattern of the earlier Ganga Action Plan [2]. - Empowered architecture: the 2016 Order gave NMCG statutory backing under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, with a three-tier chain — National Ganga Council (PM-chaired), State and District Ganga Committees [1].

Shortfalls in rejuvenation - Floodplain encroachment persists: NMCG has repeatedly advised basin states to demarcate, notify and clear floodplains, with limited compliance [4]; the Supreme Court in 2026 sought a status report on Ganga bank encroachments — effectively a compliance audit of the 2016 notification. - Weak zoning law: only a handful of states have enacted floodplain zoning legislation, and even they have not completed delineation [4]. - Federal coordination gap: riverbank land records and enforcement rest with state revenue and police machinery, while NMCG is a central agency — treated STP output is thus offset by encroachment, plastic waste and inadequate e-flow.

Structural reforms needed - Make floodplain notification and zoning legislation a binding, time-bound condition for central fund release. - Shift outcome metrics from capacity created to water-quality and e-flow parameters, with third-party audits. - Strengthen District Ganga Committees with dedicated staff and revenue-department convergence. - Adopt a rehabilitation-linked eviction policy distinguishing vulnerable riparian livelihoods from commercial encroachment.

Namami Gange has professionalised river governance; converting that into genuine rejuvenation now requires enforceable basin-level land-use regulation. Treating the Ganga as a public trust — clean water and healthy ecosystems under Article 21 and SDG 6 — must guide Mission-II's next phase.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. Cabinet approves the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016 — PIB — 2016 Order, NMCG's statutory basis under EPA 1986, three-tier structure 2. Namami Gange Mission-II approved with a budgetary outlay of ₹22,500 crore till 2026 — PIB — original ₹20,000 crore outlay (June 2014) and Mission-II financing 3. Current Progress of the National Mission for Clean Ganga — PIB — sewerage projects completed and treatment capacity created 4. National Floodplains Zoning Policy — PIB — NMCG advisories on floodplain demarcation and encroachment removal; limited state enactment of zoning laws