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Under Namami Gange, 4,263 MLD of sewage treatment capacity has been generated till June 2026, with 70 sewerage projects implemented during 2025 including 25 sewage treatment plants commissioned.
The CPCB's Polluted River Stretch report for 2025 shows Uttarakhand's Haridwar-Sultanpur stretch removed from the polluted list entirely, with partial improvement in Uttar Pradesh.
Scientific surveys across about 7,680 km of river stretches documented 3,037 gharials, leading to a National Gharial Conservation Action Plan.
The first nationwide river dolphin estimation (2021-2023) put India's Gangetic Dolphin population at 6,327 individuals.
Afforestation covered 33,024 hectares across the five Ganga basin States, and about 2.05 crore fish seeds of Indian Major Carps, Mahseer and Hilsa have been ranched.
| State | 2018 stretch and priority | 2025 stretch and priority | Observation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uttarakhand | Haridwar to Sultanpur, Priority IV | No polluted stretch | Improved; stretch removed entirely |
| Uttar Pradesh | Kannauj to Varanasi, Priority IV | Bijnor to Tarighat, Priority IV/V | Partially improved |
| Bihar | Buxar to Bhagalpur, Priority V | Bhagalpur downstream to Khalgaon downstream, Priority V | Marginal pollution remains |
| Jharkhand | No polluted stretch | No polluted stretch | No change |
| West Bengal | Triveni to Diamond Harbour, Priority III | Baharampore to Diamond Harbour, Priority V | Improved |
The implementing body of the Namami Gange Programme and the implementation wing of the National Ganga Council; an authority constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
Statutory body that identifies and prioritises Polluted River Stretches based on Biochemical Oxygen Demand levels; its PRS 2025 report is the basis for the stretch-wise comparison.
Hosts the newly established National Centre for River Research; conducts the scientific surveys underpinning gharial and dolphin conservation.
Partner for scientific river ranching to restore native fish populations in the Ganga.
India's National Aquatic Animal, declared in 2009. Listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, placed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and in Appendix I of CITES. It is functionally blind and navigates by echolocation.
Critically Endangered freshwater turtle whose release and post-release monitoring NMCG supports through the Turtle Survival Alliance Foundation India.
The Central Pollution Control Board identifies Polluted River Stretches by monitoring water quality along rivers and flagging segments where Biochemical Oxygen Demand exceeds the prescribed limit. BOD is the oxygen consumed by micro-organisms breaking down organic matter - so a high BOD means heavy organic pollution, typically untreated sewage, and correspondingly less dissolved oxygen left for fish and other aquatic life. CPCB then sorts the flagged stretches into priority classes, with Priority I the most severely polluted and higher numbers indicating progressively lower BOD. This is why the table reads the way it does: a stretch moving from Priority III to Priority V is an improvement, not a deterioration, and a stretch disappearing from the list altogether - as Uttarakhand's Haridwar-Sultanpur segment has - means it no longer breaches the threshold at all. The complementary measure used here is bio-monitoring, which assesses biological water quality through the diversity of benthic macro-invertebrates present; species that cannot tolerate low oxygen simply vanish from polluted water, so their presence is direct evidence of recovery.
Simple Analogy: BOD measures how much oxygen the pollution eats; the priority number tells you how badly a stretch is choking, with a higher number meaning it is breathing more easily.
GS Paper 3 > Environment: Conservation, Environmental Pollution and Degradation; GS Paper 1 > Geography: Drainage Systems
General Awareness > Environment and Government Programmes
General Awareness > Environment and Schemes
General Awareness > Environment
Other than poaching, what are the possible reasons for the decline in the population of Ganges River Dolphins? 1. Construction of dams and barrages on rivers 2. Increase in the population of crocodiles in rivers 3. Getting trapped in fishing nets accidentally 4. Use of synthetic fertilizers and other agricultural chemicals in crop-fields in the vicinity of rivers Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer: 1, 3 and 4 only
Which of the following are the key features of 'National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)? 1. River basin is the unit of planning and management. 2. It spearheads the river conservation efforts at the national level. 3. One of the Chief Ministers of the States through which the Ganga flows becomes the Chairman of NGRBA on rotation basis. Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer: 1 and 2 only
If you want to see gharials in their natural habitat, which one of the following is the best place to visit?
Answer: Chambal River
Consider the following pairs: Wetland/Lake : Location 1. Hokera Wetland : Punjab 2. Renuka Wetland : Himachal Pradesh 3. Rudrasagar Lake : Tripura 4. Sasthamkotta Lake : Tamil Nadu How many pairs given above are correctly matched?
Answer: Only two pairs
"If rainforests and tropical forests are the lungs of the Earth, then surely wetlands function as its kidneys." Which one of the following functions of wetlands best reflects the above statement?
Answer: Aquatic plants absorb heavy metals and excess nutrients.
Namami Gange, CPCB polluted stretches and Gangetic Dolphin conservation are among the most repeated environment topics across UPSC, SSC and Banking exams.
Million Litres per Day - the unit for sewage treatment capacity; 4,263 MLD generated under Namami Gange till June 2026.
Biochemical Oxygen Demand - oxygen consumed by micro-organisms decomposing organic matter; the parameter CPCB uses to identify polluted stretches.
A river segment where BOD exceeds the prescribed limit, classified by CPCB into priority classes with Priority I the most severe.
Bottom-dwelling organisms used as biological indicators of water quality; their diversity indicates a river's ecological health.
Releasing hatchery-reared fish seed into rivers to restore native populations; about 2.05 crore seeds ranched in the Ganga.
Trained community volunteers for Ganga conservation; more than 5,500 mobilised across 113 districts.
The Critically Endangered Red-crowned Roofed Turtle, supported by NMCG through the Turtle Survival Alliance Foundation India.