Agreements Made for Cleaning the Ganga River

India and the World Bank signed three agreements for cleaning the Ganga River on 14 June 2011. Besides this, the agreement also held for strengthening Rural Livelihoods and Biodiversity Conservation of India.

The Ganga faces great challenges from expanding population, urbanization and industrial growth. To stop the flow of untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluent into the Gang river by 2020 is the objective of Ganga project. The focus of the project is on (1) building and strengthening the National Ganga River Basin Authority’s (NGRBA) related institutions at the Central and state level;  (2) establishing a world-class Ganga Knowledge Centre; (3) enhancing river basin management; and (4) financing select priority investments to reduce point-source pollution in a sustainable manner. A complete new model of managing the protected areas while safeguarding the livelihoods of local communities is set to put in place in two protected areas, one each in Uttarakhand and Gujarat.