The Clean Ganga and Yamuna Campaigns: Challenges and Progress

The Ganga and Yamuna rivers are not just waterways – they are lifelines for hundreds of millions of people across India. Yet, decades of unchecked urbanisation, industrial discharge, and untreated sewage have pushed these rivers to the brink of ecological collapse. In response, India has launched some of its most ambitious river conservation campaigns, aimed at reversing pollution and restoring river health. Here’s a look at how these campaigns began, what they’ve achieved, and the challenges that remain.

Origins and objectives of the campaigns 🔗

India’s efforts to clean the Ganga date back to 1979, when the government first acknowledged the scale of the river’s pollution problem. After a comprehensive survey by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Ganga Action Plan (GAP) was formally launched on January 14, 1986 by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. The GAP was a centrally sponsored scheme aimed at improving Ganga’s water quality by intercepting, diverting, and treating domestic sewage and industrial effluents before they entered the river.

The plan unfolded in two phases: Phase I (1985-2000) covered 25 towns across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal, while Phase II expanded the scope to include tributaries like the Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar, and Mahananda under the broader National River Conservation Plan. Despite creating over 865 MLD of sewage treatment capacity in Phase I, the GAP struggled with faulty infrastructure design, poor inter-agency coordination, and insufficient power supply for treatment plants.

In June 2014, the Government of India launched the Namami Gange Programme as a flagship initiative under the Ministry of Jal Shakti, with a budget of ₹20,000 crore. The programme’s twin objectives were effective pollution abatement and the conservation and rejuvenation of the Ganga. It was later extended to March 2026 with an enhanced budgetary outlay of ₹22,500 crore.

For the Yamuna, the situation has been equally urgent. The 22-kilometre stretch of the Yamuna flowing through Delhi, which accounts for less than 2% of the river’s total length, contributes roughly 80% of its entire pollution load. Between 2017 and 2022, the Delhi government spent over ₹6,856 crore on Yamuna cleaning efforts. In 2025, the newly elected Delhi government committed to rejuvenating the Yamuna within three years, signalling renewed political focus on the river’s crisis.

Key components of the Namami Gange programme 🔗

The Namami Gange Programme is built on a multi-pronged approach with eight main pillars: sewerage treatment infrastructure, river-front development, river-surface cleaning, biodiversity conservation, afforestation, public awareness, industrial effluent monitoring, and the Ganga Gram initiative. Implementation has been divided into entry-level activities for immediate visible impact, medium-term activities within five years, and long-term activities within ten years.

Sewage treatment infrastructure 🔗

Sewage treatment has been the centrepiece of the programme. As of October 2025, a total of 513 projects have been sanctioned at a cost of ₹42,019 crore, of which 344 have been completed. The bulk of these projects involve building sewage treatment capacity. Under the programme, 216 sewerage infrastructure projects costing ₹34,809 crore have been taken up, with a combined treatment capacity of 6,561 MLD. Of these, 138 STP projects with a capacity of 3,806 MLD are now completed and operational.

This represents a dramatic increase – sewage treatment capacity under the programme is now more than 30 times the pre-2014 level. The programme uses a Hybrid Annuity Model (HAM) for STP development, where 40% of costs are paid after construction and 60% over the project’s operational lifespan, incentivising long-term maintenance.

Riverfront development and surface cleaning 🔗

The programme also focuses on developing and beautifying riverfronts in key Ganga-bank cities. This involves constructing ghats, cremation facilities, and public amenities to improve the relationship between communities and the river. Surface cleaning operations have been deployed to remove floating solid waste, contributing to visible improvements along several stretches.

Biodiversity conservation and afforestation 🔗

Biodiversity restoration is a major component. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has identified high biodiversity areas in the Ganga for focused conservation, and rescue and rehabilitation centres have been established for aquatic species. A cadre of trained volunteers called Ganga Praharis supports on-ground conservation efforts, while a floating interpretation centre called “Ganga Tarini” and a land-based centre called “Ganga Darpan” raise awareness about the river’s biodiversity.

The Gangetic river dolphin population has shown a marked increase – from an estimated 2,500-3,000 individuals in 2009 to approximately 6,327 according to a nationwide survey conducted during 2021-2023. Conservation programmes also cover species like the Golden Mahseer, Gharial, freshwater turtles, and otters. On the afforestation front, the programme targets 30,000 hectares of land for tree planting to increase aquifer recharge, reduce erosion, and improve the river ecosystem’s overall health.

Industrial effluent monitoring 🔗

Industries identified as grossly polluting have been directed to reduce effluent quality and volume, or implement zero-liquid discharge systems. All such industries are required to install real-time online effluent monitoring stations. State Pollution Control Boards have prepared action plans with assigned timelines for compliance across each industry category.

Challenges faced and progress made 🔗

Despite significant investments and infrastructure buildout, both the Ganga and Yamuna campaigns face persistent challenges.

Progress on the Ganga 🔗

Water quality data for 2025 shows that pH and dissolved oxygen levels across the entire stretch of the Ganga now meet bathing criteria. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) – a key indicator of organic pollution – has improved substantially. In Uttar Pradesh, BOD dropped from 10-20 mg/l in 2015 to 3-6 mg/l by 2022. In Bihar, it fell from 20-30 mg/l to 6-10 mg/l in the same period. The United Nations recognised the Namami Gange initiative as one of the top 10 ecosystem restoration initiatives in the world.

Persistent pollution problems 🔗

However, challenges remain significant. According to a PRS Legislative Research analysis, only 69% of funds allocated to the Namami Gange Programme were utilised until 2024-25, pointing to underutilisation. The programme has a target of 7,000 MLD sewage treatment capacity, but only about 52% has been achieved so far, meaning untreated sewage continues to enter the river. Additionally, more than 450 industries have failed to meet pollution norms according to CPCB assessments.

The Yamuna’s deepening crisis 🔗

The Yamuna’s situation remains dire, particularly within Delhi. Delhi generates an estimated 3,596 MLD of sewage, but its 37 operational STPs have an installed capacity of only 3,474 MLD, with actual utilisation at 2,955 MLD. About 641 MLD of sewage remains entirely untreated and flows directly into the river or its drainage network.

A Parliamentary Standing Committee report found that between 2021 and 2023, water quality at 23 out of 33 monitored locations on the Yamuna did not meet outdoor bathing standards, and dissolved oxygen was virtually non-existent in Delhi. Industrial clusters also contribute heavily – 28 clusters in Delhi discharge wastewater into the Yamuna, but only 17 are connected to Common Effluent Treatment Plants, which themselves operate at just 32% capacity.

Since January 2025, ₹140 crore has been allocated for Yamuna cleaning efforts, of which ₹108.31 crore has already been utilised. Yet, downstream stretches at Nizamuddin, Okhla, and Asgarpur continue to show BOD levels far exceeding safe limits, with faecal coliform counts in the range of hundreds of thousands to millions per 100 ml.

Community involvement gaps 🔗

Public participation remains a weak link in both campaigns. While decentralised STPs offer promising results, their success depends on local community support and stewardship – both of which remain limited. The Namami Gange Programme has made efforts through public awareness campaigns and the Ganga Prahari volunteer network, but translating awareness into sustained behavioural change across millions of riverside communities is a massive task.

Future directions for river conservation 🔗

Looking ahead, both campaigns are evolving their approaches to address the gaps that remain.

Scaling infrastructure and governance 🔗

The 2025-26 budget allocated ₹3,400 crore to the National Ganga Plan, aimed at further enhancing sewage treatment capacity, improving water quality, and regulating industrial discharge. For the Yamuna, the Delhi government committed ₹500 crore in March 2025 towards decentralised STPs, drain intercepts, and mechanised waste removal. The Central Government’s AMRUT 2.0 initiative also sanctioned ₹800 crore in July 2025 to expand sewer networks into unauthorised areas that currently lack coverage.

Technology and monitoring upgrades 🔗

Both programmes are investing in better monitoring. Delhi’s DPCC has planned 32 online monitoring stations – 14 on the Yamuna itself and 18 on drains – to provide real-time data on key pollution parameters like BOD, COD, and ammonia levels. For the Ganga, CPCB carries out water quality monitoring at 112 locations across five states , and biomonitoring studies are being conducted to assess the river’s ecological health over time.

Linking ecology with economic development 🔗

The Namami Gange Programme is increasingly focusing on connecting ecological restoration with economic opportunities. Priorities include clean energy, inland waterways, wetland development, and biodiversity conservation as drivers of sustainable development along the Ganga basin. The Ganga Knowledge Centre, established by NMCG, continues to support evidence-based policymaking and scientific research.

A five-point reset for the Yamuna 🔗

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has proposed a five-pronged strategy for the Yamuna that includes bringing faecal sludge from non-sewered areas into the treatment chain, preventing treated water from being re-contaminated in dirty drains, reworking plans for the Najafgarh and Shahdara drains that contribute 84% of pollution, planning STP upgrades around treated water reuse rather than just discharge, and ensuring full utilisation of treated wastewater – currently only 10-14% is reused.

Inter-state coordination 🔗

River conservation cannot succeed in isolation. A high-level meeting chaired by the Union Home Minister in July 2025 called for cooperation between Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh to reduce industrial waste discharge, improve STPs, and enhance the Yamuna’s ecological flow. For the Ganga, the multi-state structure spanning Uttarakhand to West Bengal demands continued coordination between central and state agencies.

India’s river conservation campaigns have made measurable progress – from dramatically expanding sewage treatment capacity to reviving dolphin populations and improving water quality across significant stretches of the Ganga. Yet, the gap between ambition and outcomes remains wide, especially for the Yamuna. Closing this gap will require not just more infrastructure, but smarter governance, better data, stronger community engagement, and genuine inter-state collaboration.

What do you think? Can technology-driven monitoring and decentralised treatment models succeed where large centralised projects have struggled? And how important is community participation in sustaining long-term river conservation beyond government mandates?

References

1. https://nmcg.nic.in/gangaactionplan1.aspx
2. https://nmcg.nic.in/NamamiGanga.aspx
3. https://www.impriindia.com/insights/namami-gange-programme-ngp/
4. https://prsindia.org/policy/report-summaries/review-of-upper-yamuna-river-cleaning-projects-up-to-delhi-and-riverbed-management-in-delhi
5. https://www.ibef.org/government-schemes/national-mission-for-clean-ganga
6. https://www.cseindia.org/reset-the-action-agenda-for-cleaning-the-yamuna-in-delhi-ncr-says-cse-12693