New Delhi, West Bengal, the last main-stem state on the Ganga before the river clears into the sea, is revealing a substantial enhancement in contamination levels, in spite of bring the cumulative sewage and commercial load of all upstream states, according to Namami Gange.
< source media ="(min-width:768px)" alt ="West Bengal sees major improvement in Ganga pollution levels: Namami Gange" > < img src ="https://www.hindustantimes.com/ht-img/img/2026/01/27/400x225/ht-generic_cities1_1769511807303_1769511865290.jpg"alt ="West Bengal sees major improvement in Ganga pollution levels: Namami Gange"title ="West Bengal sees major improvement in Ganga pollution levels: Namami Gange"width ="360"height ="202"loading ="eager">In a post on X, the National Mission for Clean Ganga stated the last stretch of the river in West Bengal “carries everything” streaming downstream from the Himalayas through the densely-populated Ganga basin.
“The Ganga’s last stretch carries everything. By the time the river reaches West Bengal, it is carrying the cumulative load of every state upstream, every city, every drain, all the way from the Himalayas,” Namami Gange stated.
“And this is the stretch that has improved the most,” it included.
The objective mentioned the Central Pollution Control Board’s Polluted River Stretches evaluation to highlight the modification in the water quality over the last 7 years.
According to Namami Gange, the Triveni-to-Diamond Harbour stretch of the river in West Bengal was categorised as a “Priority III” contaminated river stretch in 2018. In the CPCB’s 2025 evaluation, the flagged stretch has actually moved to Baharampore-to-Diamond Harbour and is now categorised as “Priority V”
The objective stated although the contaminated stretch appears geographically longer in the most recent evaluation, the real contamination load has actually decreased substantially.
“That sounds counterintuitive until you read it correctly: a longer line on the map, but far less pollution in the water,” it stated.
The objective associated this improvement to 34 sewage-infrastructure jobs worth 5,028 crore approved up until now in West Bengal under the Namami Gange program, with an overall sewage treatment capability of 816 MLD.
Of this, an overall treatment capability of 558.5 MLD throughout 17 jobs has actually been finished, according to the objective.
Namami Gange stated the facilities build-out is focused around the Hooghly belt, where the river gets heavy city discharge from the Kolkata urban area and adjacent towns.
Amongst the jobs commissioned throughout Financial Year 2025-26 are the 35-MLD Maheshtala Sewage Treatment Plant developed at an expense of 287 crore, the 30-MLD North Barrackpore STP constructed at 154 crore and developed to serve around 2.2 lakh individuals, the 13-MLD Jangipur STP constructed at 68.47 crore and the 15-MLD Chakdah STP built at an expense of 121.66 crore.
The objective likewise highlighted the growing usage of the Hybrid Annuity Model in Bengal’s sewage-infrastructure program. Under HAM, personal operators construct and run treatment plants, while payments are connected to long-lasting functional efficiency.
The Maheshtala, North Barrackpore and Chakdah tasks are all being executed under this design, Namami Gange stated.
The objective likewise concentrated on the East Kolkata Wetland, which it referred to as among the world’s biggest operating natural wastewater treatment communities.
“The most remarkable piece of infrastructure in Bengal was not built by anyone. The East Kolkata Wetland treats roughly 750 MLD of the city’s sewage naturally, using fish ponds, paddy fields and bacterial action, before the water even reaches the Hooghly,” Namami Gange stated.
“It is a Ramsar site. It feeds the city with fish and vegetables. It is the largest natural wastewater treatment system of its kind in the world. Namami Gange’s work here complements that living system rather than replacing it,” the objective stated.
According to the CPCB’s newest evaluation pointed out by Namami Gange, many stretches of the Ganga in West Bengal now comply with bathing-quality standards, with just the lower Baharampore-to-Diamond Harbour stretch staying under the Priority V classification.
The objective kept in mind that this stretch goes through the Kolkata-Howrah metropolitan heap, among the densest population clusters anywhere along the Ganga basin.
“A Priority V rating there, after the Ganga has absorbed everything from upstream, is meaningfully better than where the river stood in 2018,” it stated.
Namami Gange likewise stated policy work associated to the safe reuse of dealt with wastewater is nearing conclusion in West Bengal. The state’s Safe Reuse of Treated Water Policy is anticipated to be alerted within the next 2 months, it included.
“The last stretch carries the most. And the work shows,” the objective stated.
This short article was produced from an automated news firm feed without adjustments to text.