National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)

Context:

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) got registered in the Guinness Book of World Records on the first day of the Ganga Utsav- the River Festival 2021. The record was established for the highest number of photos of handwritten notes uploaded on the social media platform Facebook in an hour.

About National Mission for Clean Ganga

• National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG) was registered as a society on 12th August 2011 under the Societies Registration Act 1860.
• It acted as implementation arm of National Ganga River Basin Authority(NGRBA) which was constituted under the provisions of the Environment (Protection) Act (EPA),1986.
• NGRBA has since been dissolved with effect from the 7th October 2016, consequent to constitution of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga (referred as National Ganga Council)
• The Act envisages five tier structure at national, state and district level to take measures for prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution in river Ganga and to ensure continuous adequate flow of water so as to rejuvenate the river Ganga as below;
• National Ganga Council under chairmanship of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.
• Empowered Task Force (ETF) on river Ganga under chairmanship of Hon’ble Union Minister of Jal Shakti (Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation).
• National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG).
• State Ganga Committees and
• District Ganga Committees in every specified district abutting river Ganga and its tributaries in the states.

Objectives of National Mission for Clean Ganga

The Government of India organised the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan. NMCG focuses on pollution reduction interventions including interception, diversion and the treatment of wastewater that flows through the open drains. It aims to reduce pollution through bioremediation, apt in-situ treatment, pioneering technology, sewage treatment plants (STP) and effluent treatment plants (ETP).

Some of the major objectives of the Nation Mission for Clean Ganga are:

• The mission incorporates rehabilitating and boosting the existing STPs and instant short-term steps to curb pollution at exit points on the riverfront in order to check the inflow of sewage.
• To maintain the continuity of the water flow without changing the natural season variations.
• To restore and maintain the surface flow and groundwater.
• To regenerate and maintain the natural vegetation of the area.
• To conserve and regenerate the aquatic biodiversity as well as the riparian biodiversity of the river Ganga basin.
• To allow participation of the public in the process of protection, rejuvenation and management of the river.

What is Namami Gange?

The Namami Gange Yojana is implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga along with its State Programme Management Groups (SPMGs). Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley announced the implementation of Namami Gange on 10 July 2014.

This programme was established as a conservation mission with a budget of Rs. 20,000 crore. Namami Gange aims at reducing the pollution of the river Ganga along with the conservation and rejuvenation of the river banks.

It is a flagship programme under the Union Government. The main pillars of the Namami Gange have been discussed below:

• Sewerage Treatment Infrastructure & Industrial Effluent Monitoring.
• Development of river-front as well as river-surface cleaning.
• Bio-Diversity & Afforestation.
• Public Awareness.

Guinness Book of World Records-

• Guinness World Records, known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as The Guinness Book of Records and in previous United States editions as The Guinness Book of World Records.
• The brainchild of Sir Hugh Beaver, the book was co-founded by twin brothers Norris and Ross McWhirter in Fleet Street, London, UK, in August 1955.
• As of the 2022 edition, it is now in its 67th year of publication, published in 100 countries and 23 languages, and maintains over 53,000 records in its database. 
• It is a reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world.

Source: Hindustan Times

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