New Delhi: Urban River Management Plans have expanded across 60 cities in the Ganga Basin as the National Mission for Clean Ganga and the National Institute of Urban Affairs scale up river-centric urban planning under the Namami Gange Programme.
Officials said plans have already been completed for 13 cities. Meanwhile, Urban River Management Plans are under preparation for 27 cities in Phase-I and 33 more cities in Phase-II.
The initiative follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for a shift from city-centric development to river-centric planning during the National Ganga Council meeting in Kanpur in 2019.
The framework aims to integrate river health with urban growth. It focuses on ecological restoration, pollution control, flood resilience, cultural heritage conservation, eco-tourism and citizen participation.
The programme follows three core pillars: environmental sustainability, economic development and social inclusion. In addition, the framework promotes floodplain protection, wetland restoration, treated water reuse, riverfront development and stronger public engagement.
Urban River Management Plans move from strategy to implementation
The initiative builds on pilot projects in Ayodhya, Kanpur and Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar. These projects demonstrated how city-specific solutions can address local environmental and developmental challenges.
In Uttarakhand, completed plans for Haldwani-Kathgodam, Ramnagar and Rishikesh focus on ecological restoration, sustainable tourism and improved river connectivity. Similarly, cities in Uttar Pradesh are using blue-green infrastructure, flood management systems and wastewater treatment measures.
In Bihar, the plans concentrate on flood resilience, groundwater recharge, river restoration and biodiversity conservation. Furthermore, cities such as Buxar, Chapra and Gaya are integrating cultural heritage with sustainable urban development.
The programme has now entered the implementation stage. In Kanpur, authorities are developing projects to restore the COD Drain and rejuvenate urban water bodies through advanced monitoring technologies.
NMCG is also promoting pilot interventions that include riparian buffers, wetland restoration, faecal sludge management and eco-friendly riverfront projects. Therefore, cities can move from planning to execution through practical and measurable solutions.
Officials said the long-term goal is to extend coverage to all 97 cities along the main stem of the Ganga. Eventually, the framework could expand to river systems across India and establish a national model for river-sensitive urban planning.
