NEW DELHI: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Namami Gange scheme and accused his government of cheating “Maa Ganga” in the name of cleaning the river. This was after Prime Minister offered prayers at Mukhwa temple earlier today and said he feels blessed to visit the winter abode of Goddess Ganga in Uttarakhand. “I think Maa Ganga has adopted me. It is her blessings that took me to Kashi and gave me an opportunity to serve the people,” the PM said.
Mukhwa is located on the way to the Gangotri temple dedicated to Goddess Ganga. For six months, the idol of Ganga is worshipped at the Mukhimath Temple until the Gangotri Temple reopens in the summer. Once the temple reopens, the idol is returned to the Gangotri Temple in a grand procession filled with celebrations.
Also read: Watch: PM Narendra Modi offers prayers at winter abode of river Ganga in Uttarakhand’s Mukhwa
Hours later, targeting the Prime Minister, Kharge posted on X: “Modi Ji had stated that ‘Maa Ganga had called him’ but the truth is that he has ‘forgotten’ his guarantee of cleaning the Ganga!”
Citing a November 2024 reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, the Congress president said “the Namami Gange scheme was launched nearly 11 years ago under which Rs 42,500 crore was to be used by March 2026, but the answers to questions in Parliament show that only Rs 19,271 crore have been spent till December 2024.”
“That is, the Modi government has not spent 55 per cent of the funds of the Namami Gange scheme. Why so much indifference towards Maa Ganga?” Kharge questioned.
“In 2015, Modi ji had urged our NRI friends to contribute to the Clean Ganga Fund. Rs 876 crore has been donated to this fund till March 2024, but 56.7 per cent of it has not been used yet. Around 53 per cent of this fund has been donated by government undertakings,” the Congress president claimed.
The government’s reply shows that 38 per cent of Namami Gange projects are still pending, the Congress president pointed out. Kharge also claimed that 82 per cent of the total allocated funds were to be spent to build Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) but 39 per cent of those have still not been completed. Those that are completed are not even operational, he added.
The Congress president then went on to share the details of cleaning work in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal.
In Uttar Pradesh, 75 per cent of the drains that were supposed to go to STPs have been discharging their effluents directly into the Ganga. Asserting that 3513.16 MLD sewage was being dumped into the river, Kharge said, “Rules have not been followed in 97 per cent of the STPs. (November 2024).”
“Bihar — 46 per cent of STPs are not operational; rest do not meet faecal coliform levels (October 2024). West Bengal: 40 STPs not functional; 95 per cent do not meet NGT norms; 76.16 per cent do not comply with MoEF norms (March 2024),” he said.
The Congress chief said in November 2024, the National Green Tribunal had expressed strong displeasure over the administration’s “failure” to maintain the cleanliness of the Ganga in Varanasi, Modi’s parliamentary constituency.
“While reprimanding, the tribunal even suggested that a board be installed on the river bank, stating that the Ganga water in the city is not safe for bathing. The latest report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) released in February 2025 found faecal coliform levels to be much higher than the safe limit of 2,500 units/100 ml. It was 11,000 units/100 ml near Shastri Bridge in Prayagraj and 7,900 units/100 ml at Sangam,” Kharge said.
He pointed out that according to another research, the transparency of Ganga water has decreased to only 5 per cent due to the increase in solid waste, a sign of serious pollution.
Karge further claimed that plastic pollution in Ganga increased by 25 per cent between May and June 2024, which further aggravated the pollution crisis.
“In the name of Ganga Gram, the Modi government has only constructed toilets. Afforestation of 1,34,106 hectares along the Ganga in five states was to be done and the cost of it was Rs 2,294 crore. But till 2022, 78 per cent of the afforestation was not done and 85 per cent of the funds were not used, an RTI has revealed,” he said.
“Ganga is life-giving. It is India’s cultural and spiritual heritage, but the Modi government has only cheated ‘Maa Ganga’ in the name of cleaning the river,” Kharge added.
(With inputs from agencies)