Jharkhand records zero polluted stretches on Ganga main stem for 7th straight year: Namami Gange

Jharkhand has maintained a record of zero polluted river stretches on the Ganga main stem for the last seven years under the Centre's Namami Gange river-conservation programme.

Jharkhand, which has the shortest stretch of the Ganga main stem among the five basin states, has maintained a record of zero polluted river stretches (PRS) on the river for the last seven years, according to Namami Gange.

Highlighting the state's performance under the Centre's flagship river-conservation programme, Namami Gange said Jharkhand's model stands out because the focus is on preventing pollution rather than restoring a degraded river stretch.

''While most Namami Gange stories are about cleaning up, Jharkhand's is about not letting it get dirty in the first place,'' the programme said in a post on X.

''In 2018, the CPCB recorded zero polluted river stretches on Jharkhand's Ganga main stem. In 2025, after seven years of Namami Gange work, the count is still zero. The state has held the line,'' it added.

''The job in Jharkhand is not to recover lost ground. It is to keep the Ganga main stem clean while work on tributaries and industrial discharge continues,'' Namami Gange said.

According to an infographic shared by the programme, five sewage-infrastructure projects with a sanctioned treatment capacity of 261.5 million litres per day (MLD) and a total outlay of Rs 1,310 crore have been approved in the state to maintain the river's clean status.

Three of the five sanctioned projects have already been completed. Of the 261.5 MLD treatment capacity sanctioned, 29.5 MLD have so far been created along the Ganga-front.

The programme highlighted the completion in 2025-26 of the Phusro sewage-treatment project, which added 14 MLD treatment capacity at a sanctioned cost of Rs 61.05 crore.

Namami Gange cited three main reasons why Jharkhand stands out.

First, the Ganga main stem is clean and the focus of work has shifted upstream.

''Jharkhand's contribution to Ganga pollution comes less from the main stem and more from tributaries, mining belts and industrial clusters that feed into the basin. The sewerage portfolio is calibrated to that reality -- fewer, larger and more strategic projects rather than a wide network,'' it said.

Second, treated wastewater is already being reused. ''What is unusual about Jharkhand is the second life of treated water. The Jojobera Thermal Power Plant runs its operations on treated wastewater sourced from a nearby STP. That is the kind of circular model the National Framework for Safe Reuse of Treated Water is built to scale, and Jharkhand has a working proof of concept on the ground,'' it added.

Third, policy work is moving in parallel. According to Namami Gange, Jharkhand, along with West Bengal, is among the states where the Safe Reuse of Treated Water Policy is proposed to be notified.

''Jharkhand is one of the states where the Safe Reuse of Treated Water Policy is targeted for notification, alongside West Bengal. Once notified, the Jojobera-style model will get a formal framework for expansion into other industries in the state,'' Namami Gange said.

It added that the next phase for Jharkhand is focussed on scaling up existing systems while preserving the clean status of the Ganga main stem.

''The next phase is scale, not recovery. The job is to hold the line, and do it well,'' it said.

According to Namami Gange, the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) 2025 assessment found that the Ganga main stem in Jharkhand fully conforms to bathing-quality biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) norms and has no identified polluted river stretch.

However, it noted that pollution challenges persist in other rivers across the state.

''The state-wide PRS picture beyond the Ganga main stem is a different conversation. Ten polluted stretches across Jharkhand's other rivers, mostly under Priority V, have been flagged by the CPCB and are being addressed under the state action plan,'' it said.