India Charts Bold Urban River Rejuvenation Path with RCA’s 2025 Master Plan

The RCA’s core goals revolve around building institutional capacity, fostering cross-city and cross-state knowledge exchange, and operationalizing Urban River Management Plans (URMPs).

In a decisive stride toward sustainable water and urban ecosystem management, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved a comprehensive Annual Master Plan for the River Cities Alliance (RCA) for 2025. This strategic blueprint sets the stage for a year of innovation, collaboration, and capacity building focused on integrating river-sensitive principles into India’s fast-evolving urban landscapes.

About the River Cities Alliance: Vision and Growth

Established in 2021 under the leadership of the Ministry of Jal Shakti and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, the River Cities Alliance (RCA) represents a pioneering step in aligning city planning with river rejuvenation. The Alliance now comprises 145 member cities and functions as a collaborative platform to promote holistic, river-conscious urban development.

The RCA’s core goals revolve around building institutional capacity, fostering cross-city and cross-state knowledge exchange, and operationalizing Urban River Management Plans (URMPs). These plans aim to embed environmental sustainability into urban governance by treating rivers not merely as water conduits, but as vibrant ecosystems central to a city’s identity and resilience.

Highlights of the 2025 Annual Plan

The 2025 roadmap is ambitious, multidimensional, and action-oriented. It includes an extensive calendar of activities designed to empower Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), urban planners, and other stakeholders with the tools, knowledge, and support needed to implement river-sensitive planning practices.

1. Capacity Building and Technical Assistance

• River-Sensitive Master Planning (RSMP) training programs will be rolled out across Indian states to guide the integration of river ecosystems into city master plans.

• Urban River Management Plan (URMP) training and onboarding will begin with cities in Tamil Nadu, followed by similar engagements in other states.

• Thematic Expert Groups will be established to provide specialized technical inputs and mentor cities on eco-friendly riverfront development and related topics.

2. Expansion of Urban River Management Plans

The URMP framework, co-developed by the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and NMCG in 2020, forms the foundation of this transformation. It enables cities to address river health by considering environmental, social, and economic aspects collectively.

Five cities—Kanpur, Ayodhya, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (formerly Aurangabad), Moradabad, and Bareilly—have already implemented URMPs. Among them, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar’s Kham River Restoration Mission has gained international acclaim, winning the prestigious Ross Center Prize for Cities by the World Resources Institute.

Building on this momentum, 25 new URMPs will be initiated in 2025 as part of the first phase of a national goal to develop 60 plans over the next two to three years. These will be supported by World Bank funding and guided by state-level steering committees in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal.

Flagship Initiative for the National Capital

A landmark project under the 2025 plan is the formulation of a URMP for Delhi, reflecting the Prime Minister’s vision for revitalized urban rivers. This initiative seeks to restore the Yamuna and its tributaries as ecological and cultural assets. The capital’s URMP will serve as a model for other metropolitan regions, aiming to inspire systemic change in how urban India perceives and manages its rivers.

Strengthening Governance and Institutional Linkages

To promote multi-level alignment, NMCG will release an advisory on effective coordination among basin, district, and city-level river management plans. This vertical integration aims to ensure that strategies across administrative tiers reinforce one another.

Additionally, tailored knowledge products and guidance documents will be released, and a feedback mechanism will be introduced to identify and address the specific knowledge gaps faced by cities in implementing river-sensitive initiatives.

Enhancing Public Participation and Awareness

In keeping with its community-driven ethos, the RCA is also focusing on fostering a river-conscious culture among citizens through:

• Public awareness campaigns and citizen sensitization programs.

• A weekly series of case studies published every Monday, documenting successful river rejuvenation practices.

• Exposure visits for ULBs to cities like Udaipur and Hyderabad, where pioneering river-friendly urban projects are underway.

• Events such as DHARA, a major basin-level conclave that brings together city administrators, environmentalists, and river experts.

Financial and Digital Enablement

Recognizing the financial and digital needs of cities, the 2025 plan includes:

• Advisory services to help cities raise resources for river-focused projects.

• Benchmarking of RCA cities using the URMP framework, helping track progress and share learning across the network.

• A brand-new RCA website developed as a digital hub for resources, case studies, events, and tools.

Importantly, India’s leadership on this issue is now also visible on the global stage. RCA’s participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos in February 2025 showcased India’s urban river strategy to a global audience, demonstrating the nation’s proactive approach to ecological urbanism.

A Transformative Year Ahead

The NMCG’s approval of the RCA’s 2025 plan is more than an administrative milestone—it’s a call to action. With a structured implementation approach, robust state and city partnerships, and international backing, India is poised to redefine the relationship between its cities and rivers.

As urbanization accelerates, this initiative affirms that rivers must remain central to our urban future—alive, protected, and integrated into the heartbeat of every city.