UP gets ₹16K cr under Namami Gange; Ganga water quality improves

Lucknow: Having been recognised as an ‘Anchor State’ of India’s largest river restoration programme, Namami Gange, Uttar Pradesh has received an investment of Rs 16,201 crore for sewage infrastructure projects from the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG).This allocation is almost 45% of the total sewage infrastructure investment which has been approved nationwide under NMCG.Out of 80 sanctioned projects under the scheme, 53 have already been completed, while 1,520 MLD of the total planned 2,701 MLD sewage treatment capacity is operational.A state govt official said the Central Pollution Control Board’s assessment report of 2025 has formally acknowledged the improvement in the health of the Ganga.The report says that in 2018, the entire stretch from Kannauj to Varanasi was categorised as a ‘Priority-IV’ polluted segment. By 2025, there were several breaks in the stretch.“Pollution is now limited to only three stretches, Farrukhabad to Old Rajapur, Dalmau, and Mirzapur downstream to Tarighat. These have been placed in the ‘Priority-V’ category, considered the lowest level of pollution just before the ‘unpolluted’ classification,” said NMCG deputy director general, Nalin Kumar Srivastava.He added that according to CPCB’s monitoring, the main channel of the Ganga in UP now meets bathing-quality BOD (biochemical oxygen demand) standards across most stretches.“This marks not merely an administrative achievement, but a real and measurable improvement in the river’s water quality after decades,” he said.The official shared that state govt is implementing infrastructure and sewage treatment projects across 11 major cities in UP, including Varanasi, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan, Moradabad, Bhadohi, Bijnor and Shuklaganj.Under Namami Gange Phase-II, Prayagraj’s ‘Green STP Model’ has emerged as a national benchmark. Four sewage treatment plants in Sangam city are now generating a major share of their own energy requirements.The 80 MLD Naini STP produces approximately 5,900 units of electricity daily through solar energy and biogas, while the 42 MLD Naini STP’s 1,000 KW solar plant generates around 3,850 units of electricity daily. The Jhunsi and Phaphamau STPs are also being converted to fully solar-powered operations.At the Assi drain confluence area in Varanasi, NMCG has deployed advanced oxidation technology that treats excess wastewater directly at the discharge point, preventing untreated sewage from entering the Ganga.“The remaining polluted stretches have already been identified and incorporated into the active project pipeline. Future phases will focus on targeted investment, accelerated construction and intensive monitoring in these regions,” he said.