National Mission for Clean Ganga

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is the national-level body responsible for coordinating and implementing measures to reduce pollution and rejuvenate the River Ganga. Its institutional mandate combines pollution abatement with maintaining ecological flows and coordinating river-basin management; it is also the principal implementing institution for Namami Gange.

Legal and institutional position

NMCG was registered as a society in 2011. The River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016, issued under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, constituted it as an authority and established the wider institutional framework for Ganga rejuvenation.

• It functions under the Ministry of Jal Shakti's Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
• The National Ganga Council, chaired by the Prime Minister, provides apex-level oversight; NMCG performs the national implementation and coordination role.
• The institutional framework links the national bodies with State Ganga Committees and District Ganga Committees.

Core environmental mandate

NMCG's mandate goes beyond constructing sewage-treatment infrastructure. It adopts a river-basin approach, recognising that river health depends on pollution sources, water flows and ecological conditions across the basin.

• It works towards effective prevention, control and abatement of pollution and the rejuvenation of the Ganga.
• It seeks to maintain minimum ecological flows, linking water quality with environmentally sustainable development.
• It promotes coordination across sectors and governments for comprehensive planning and management of the river.
• Its rejuvenation responsibilities encompass ecological protection and restoration alongside pollution-control measures.

Implementation and coordination responsibilities

Through Namami Gange, NMCG translates the rejuvenation mandate into programmes and projects, working with states, local bodies and specialised agencies.

• It undertakes project appraisal, approval, financing and monitoring within the programme's institutional arrangements.
• It coordinates interventions such as sewage treatment, industrial pollution abatement, river-surface cleaning, biodiversity conservation and afforestation.
• It supports monitoring, research, public awareness and community participation so that rejuvenation is sustained beyond individual infrastructure projects.
• Its role complements, rather than replaces, the statutory pollution-control responsibilities of the Central and State Pollution Control Boards.