UPSC Articles
National Mission for Clean Ganga
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – Policies and interventions
In news
- A policy document from the National Mission for Clean Ganga has instructed Cities situated on river banks to incorporate river conservation plans when they prepare their Master Plans.
- The recommendations are currently for towns that are on the main stem of the Ganga. There are 97 towns encompassing five States — Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal.
Some of the norms emphasised in the policy document are
- Clarifying land ownership issue, restrictions on the Floor Area Ratio, increasing green cover in the vicinity of the river by creating green buffers, removing concrete structures and employing green infrastructure.
- Facilitating the use of state-of-the-art technologies for river management – Satellite-based monitoring of water quality; Big data for river-health monitoring and Drones & AI for riverine biodiversity & floodplain mapping.
What is the National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG)?
- The National Ganga Council, also known as the National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection, and Management of River Ganga was set up in 2016. It replaced the National River Ganga Basin Authority (NRGBA).
- NGRBA was constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA),1986.
- The National Ganga Council, chaired by Prime Minister, has been given overall responsibility for the superintendence of pollution prevention and rejuvenation of River Ganga Basin, including Ganga and its tributaries.
- National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is the implementation arm of national Ganga Council.
- NMCG is registered as a society in 2011 under the Societies Registration Act 1860.
- The aims and objectives of NMCG are:
- To ensure effective control of pollution and rejuvenation of the river Ganga by adopting a river basin approach to promote inter-sectoral coordination for comprehensive planning and management.
- To maintain minimum ecological flows in the river Ganga with the aim of ensuring water quality and environmentally sustainable development.
Source: TH
