Ganga Action Plan

Government funds are used to support the Ganga Action Plan (GAP). Following this idea, the
National River Ganga Basin Authority was established, and Ganga was designated a national
river of India.
In 1985, the Ganga Action Plan, the first river action plan, was taken up by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests. Since then, the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), which
extended the programme to other large rivers in 1995, has allowed it to cover all of the nation's
major rivers.

Ganga Action Plan Background

Due to development along river stretches, waste dumping, and other problems, water pollution
has consistently worsened. The catastrophic condition of the Ganga River is a manifestation of
this issue. Since the Ganga Action Plan's (GAP) introduction in 1985, efforts have been
undertaken in this direction. The Government of India first proposed the notion of cleaning the
Ganga river in 1979. Still, the Ganga Action Plan could not be started until 1985, following a
thorough examination of the Ganga by CPCB.

Overview of Ganga Action Plan

The ultimate aim of the Ganga Action Plan was to create an integrated river basin management
strategy that considers the many dynamic connections between abiotic & biotic ecosystems.
The Ganga Action Plan is essential because:
• To reduce pollution in the Ganga River, the program was launched. The Ganga Action
Plan (GAP) program was entirely funded by the federal government.
• This tactic led to establishment of the National River Ganga Basin Board and the
designation of Ganga as an Indian national river. Rajiv Gandhi oversaw the Ganga
Action Plan. The prime minister & chief ministers of each state where the Ganga flows
are in charge of the authority.
• There were two phases to Ganga Action Plan. Phase I began in 1985 and encompassed
the three states that were present at the time: UP, West Bengal and Bihar.
• Whereas Ganga Action Plan Phase II was introduced in 1993, which includes the seven
states of Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Haryana, & Delhi.
• The Ganga action plan for each tributary was developed in the second phase. The
second phase of the same programme saw the beginning of the national river
conservation strategy. Along with Yamuna, Gomti, Damodar & Mahananda, it also
comprised Ganga tributaries.
• The general planning and execution of GAP were delegated to the Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MoEF). The Central Ganga Authority (CGA), led by the Indian
Prime Minister, was created due to the Environment Protection Act of 1986.

Need for Ganga Action Plan

The urbanization and industrialization that took place in the late 1970s led to a large rise in the
amount of untreated sewage that was dumped into waterways. As a result of the increasing
pollution, there was less clean drinking water available, which increased the danger of illnesses,
including cholera, typhoid, and others transmitted by water.

The largest river, Ganga, saw a substantial rise in pollution due to practices like open
defecation, the release of untreated industrial waste, and other causes. Because there were no
regulations to keep these areas in check, none of this could have been prevented. That is why
the government launched the Ganga Action Plan to clear the river Ganga nationwide.

Objectives of the Ganga Action Plan

The Ganga Action Plan aims to systematically and deliberately reduce pollution in the most
important river.
• To enhance the water quality of the Ganga to acceptable norms at the time the
government developed the Ganga Action Plan, the goal was to stop the pollutant load
from entering the river.
• The Ganga Action Plan placed a high priority on reducing pollution and raising water
quality. GAP places a lot of emphasis on sewage interception & treatment facilities.
• Additionally, it emphasised biodiversity preservation, creating an integrated river basin
management strategy, thorough research to advance these goals and experience-
building for implementing the program to clean up other polluted rivers in India.
• Along with reducing pollution, the Ganga Action Plan's overarching goal was to restore
biodiversity along the Ganges River's path.

Phases of Ganga Action Plan

Phase I and Phase II of the Ganga Action Plan were each carried out separately. Let us learn
the details of each phase of GAP in detail below.

First Phase of Ganga Action Plan

The first phase encompassed three states. The three states in Phase I are West Bengal, Bihar,
and Uttar Pradesh. The first phase of the Ganga Action Plan lasted from January 1986 to March
2000. The goal of this phase was to stop the Ganga from being contaminated. The overall cost
to finish Phase 1 of the Ganga Action Plan was Rs. 452 crores.

The Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) 1984 research served as the foundation for
developing this plan. According to the CPCB survey, the total amount of sewage produced by
25 Class 1 municipalities was estimated to be over 1340 million litres per day in 1985. To
achieve this objective, a total of 261 pollution abatement projects totalling 25 towns in three
states, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Bihar, were authorised at a cost of Rs. 462 crores. The
closure of phase 1 of the Ganga Action Plan was announced on March 31, 2000. This project
developed an 865 million litres per day capacity for treating sewage.

Phase II of the Ganga Action Plan

Phase II covered Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Uttrakhand, West Bengal, and
Jharkhand. The Ganga Action Plan Phase II project includes the Yamuna, Gomti, Mahananda,
and Damodar tributaries. Phase 2 of the Ganga Action Plan, which included measures for the
Yamuna, Damodar, & Gomti in addition to the Ganga, was accepted in phases between 1993
and 1996. Phase 1 of GAP did not fully address the level of the river's pollution.

The effort was expanded to other significant rivers in India under two distinct programmes, the
Ganga Action Plan Phase-II as well as the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), along with
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) as its mother company (from the year 2014). In April
1993, the Yamuna & Gomti Action Plans were approved as a component of the Ganga Action
Plan Phase II.

Role of Agencies in Ganga Action Plan

Outside Agencies played an important role in Ganga Action Plan.
• The "Water Quality Management Plan for Ganga" Development Study has received
technical support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
• Kanpur, Lucknow, Allahabad, & Varanasi are the four towns that are highlighted.
• The JICA Study Team/Consultants were contracted by JICA to carry out the study, and
their work lasted from March 2003 through August/September 2005.
• The major objective of the Ganga Action Plan was to develop master plans & site
analysis for the non-sewerage and sewerage components of the four towns, including
sewage treatment.
• The JICA Study Team provided a Master Plan as well as Feasibility Studies report for
sewerage and non-sewerage works in Varanasi town in the first phase during 2004–
2005, on the basis of which the JBIC had signed an agreement with the Government of
India for providing a loan for starting pollution prevention schemes of the river Ganga in
this town at an estimated cost of Rs.540 crore (13.248 billion Yen).
• The final Feasibility Study Reports, which incorporate the views of the relevant
organisations for the last three towns of Allahabad, Kanpur, & Lucknow, have been
delivered to JICA.
• Approximately Rs. 1100 crore would be spent on Ganga Action Plan Phase II
developments in the three towns (Kanpur - Rs.425 crore, Allahabad - Rs.305 crore &
Lucknow - Rs.375 crore).