National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has approved the 2025 Action Plan under the River Cities Alliance (RCA) to integrate river-sensitive urban planning into India’s urban development framework.
Key features of 2025 Action Plan
- Focuses on mainstreaming river-sensitive urban planning in India.
- Includes capacity-building programs, knowledge exchange platforms, technical tools development, expert guidance, and thematic case studies.
- Aims to build resilient, inclusive, and water-secure urban ecosystems.
- Marks a pivotal step in institutionalising river-sensitive urban planning in India.
- Reinforces NMCG’s commitment to creating resilient, water-secure, and inclusive urban ecosystems.
Significance of 2025 Action Plan:
- Strengthens capacity of cities to protect and sustainably manage urban rivers.
- Facilitates collaboration and knowledge-sharing between river cities.
- Promotes inclusive, resilient, and water-secure urban ecosystems aligned with sustainable development goals.
About River Cities Alliance (RCA)
- Launched: 2021
- Joint initiative of: Ministry of Jal Shakti & Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
- Objective:
- Strengthen institutional capacity for urban river management.
- Foster inter-city collaboration across river basins.
- Promote development of Urban River Management Plans (URMPs).
- Facilitate knowledge exchange and innovation among river cities.
- Unique feature: First-of-its-kind alliance globally, showcasing partnership between the two ministries.
- Membership: 145 member cities (open for any river city in India to join anytime).
- Core focus areas:
- Networking
- Capacity Building
- Technical Support
- Secretariat: Located at National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA).
RCA provides a platform for cities to share best practices, exchange knowledge, and support innovations for sustainable urban river management.
The 2025 plan introduces strategic interventions to operationalize RCA’s objectives through workshops, training programs, knowledge-sharing platforms, and expert support.
Urban River Management Plan (URMP) Framework
- Launched: 2020 by NIUA and NMCG.
- Purpose: Integrate environmental, economic, and social dimensions in urban river management.
- Key features:
- Promotes holistic and sustainable planning for urban rivers.
- Facilitates action plans tailored to city-specific river ecosystems.
- Cities with URMPs implemented:
- Kanpur
- Ayodhya
- Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar
- Moradabad
- Bareilly
- Recognition: Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar’s Kham River Restoration Mission won global recognition from the World Resources Institute’s Ross Center Prize for Cities.
About National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG)
- Established: Registered as a society on August 12, 2011 under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
- Role: Acts as the implementation arm of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).
- Current oversight: NGRBA was replaced by the National Ganga Council in 2016 (chaired by the Prime Minister).
- Objective: Effective abatement of pollution, conservation, and rejuvenation of River Ganga using a river basin approach.
- Structure: Two-tier management: Governing Council and Executive Committee (both headed by Director General, NMCG).
- Feature: NMCG uses a river basin approach to ensure comprehensive management of Ganga and its tributaries.
- NMCG also plays a pivotal role in rolling out the URMP Framework for urban river management.