World Bank sanctions $400 million to boost Namami Gange Programme

NEW DELHI: The World Bank and Government of India on Tuesday, July 7^th, signed a loan agreement to boost the Namami Gange Programme. The loan with provide an assistance of USD 400 million for the rejuvenation of the Ganga River.

The USD 400 million operation comprises of a loan of USD 381 million and a proposed guarantee of up to USD 19 million. The USD 381 million loan agreement was signed by Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance on behalf of the Government of India and Qaiser Khan, acting Country Director (India), on behalf of the World Bank. The guarantee instrument will be processed separately. The loan would be for a period of five years up to December 2026.

The Second National Ganga River Basin Project will focus on taking up projects on tributaries of river Ganga with a view to address pollution abatement in the entire Ganga Basin and restore its water quality. It also strengthens the management of the river basin which is home to more than 500 million people.

313 projects have been sanctioned till March 2020 at a total cost of Rs 28,966 crore in different sectors under the Namami Gange Programme.

Khare said that Ganga is India’s most important cultural, economic, and environmental resource and the Government’s Namami Gange Programme seeks to ensure that the river returns to a pollution-free, ecologically healthy state. The new project will expand the engagement of Government of India and the World Bank in this crucial national programme to make the Ganga a clean, healthy river.

The World Bank has been supporting the government’s efforts since 2011 through the ongoing National Ganga River Basin Project, which helped set up the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) as the nodal agency to manage the river and financed sewage treatment infrastructure in several riverside towns and cities.

Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director-General, National Mission for Clean Ganga said the continuity provided by the Second National Ganga River Basin Project will consolidate the momentum achieved under the first World Bank project. It will help NMCG to introduce further innovations and benchmark its initiatives against global best practices in river rejuvenation.

Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director, India said the government’s Namami Gange Program has revived India’s efforts for rejuvenating the Ganga.