First Meeting of National Ganga Council

Why in News

Recently, the Prime Minister chaired the first meeting of the National Ganga Council at Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.

  • The first meeting of the Council was aimed at reinforcing the importance of a ‘Ganga-centric’ approach in all departments of the concerned states as well as relevant Central Ministries.
  • 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).

Key Points

  • The 'Namami Gange' should holistically evolve to 'Arth Ganga' i.e. a sustainable development model with a focus on economic activities related to Ganga.
  • Setting up of a digital dashboard where data from villages and urban bodies to be monitored on a daily basis by NITI Ayog and Ministry of Jal Shakti.
  • The need to increase the efficiency of district Ganga committees for effective implementation of the Namami Gange Programme.
  • The potential of religious and adventure tourism in the Ganga river basin area to be explored in future. As the income generated from tourism activities would help to generate sustainable income for cleaning the Ganga.

National Ganga Council

  • The National Ganga Council is chaired by Prime Minister.
  • The National Ganga Council is formed under the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA),1986.
  • It 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) acts as an implementation arm of the National Ganga Council.
    • NMCG was established in the year 2011 as a registered society.
    • It has a two-tier management structure and comprises of Governing Council and Executive Committee.
    • 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