2015 · GS Paper 3 · Q15 · 12 marks
Discuss the Namami Gange and National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) programmes and causes of mixed results from the previous schemes. What quantum leaps can help preserve the river Ganga better than incremental inputs ?
In short
Namami Gange, run by the National Mission for Clean Ganga, integrates sewage treatment, effluent control and biodiversity, but earlier plans failed for lack of sewers, maintenance and river flow, so ecological flow, basin governance and a river economy are the needed leaps. Its outlay stands at ₹22,500 crore to March 2026.
Model answer
Ghissu Editorial · Verified 4 Oct 2026 · 293 words
NMCG
Registered in 2011 as the arm of the National Ganga River Basin Authority, it became an authority in 2016 under a National Ganga Council chaired by the Prime Minister.
Namami Gange
Approved with ₹20,000 crore in 2014 and extended to 2026 with ₹22,500 crore, it funds sewage plants under the Hybrid Annuity Model, effluent control, afforestation and biodiversity, and CPCB reports main-stem industrial compliance rising from 39 percent in 2017 to 83 percent in 2024.
End-of-pipe focus
The Ganga Action Plans built treatment plants without sewer networks, and plants idled for want of power and maintenance funds.
Flow and fragmentation
Barrages starved the river of flow, weak urban local bodies orphaned assets, and Kanpur tanneries kept polluting despite M.C. Mehta (1987).
Aviral flow and basin law
Enforcing the 2018 ecological flow notification and the IIT consortium's 2015 basin plan, including a Ganga law, would treat the river as a system.
River economy
Selling treated water to industry, as Mathura's refinery does, and Arth Ganga's natural farming and tourism tie incomes to a clean river.
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Question from the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination 2015 paper. Answer written by Ghissu's engine and checked against our editorial standards. Found an error? Tell us and we correct it within 48 hours.