Ganga Nodal Agency Transferred To Water Resources Ministry

The government has transferred its nodal agency - National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) - from the Environment Ministry to the Water Resources Ministry.

The transfer follows the government's recent move to expand the role of the Water Resources Ministry by adding 'Ganga rejuvenation' and 'river development.'

"All issues related to conservation, development, management and abatement of pollution in river Ganga and its tributaries will also be looked after by the ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation," said an official statement.

The NGRBA was constituted in February, 2009, when the then UPA government gave Ganga the status of 'national river.' It is a planning, financing, monitoring and coordinating body of the Centre and the states.

The objective of the NGRBA is to control pollution and conserve the river by adopting a river-basin approach for comprehensive planning and management.