**Executive Summary**
This document announces new initiatives under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). It details the sanctioning of a "digital twin" project at IIT (Delhi), a hybrid annuity PPP project for sewage treatment in Siliguri, and a glacier melt study sanctioned to the National Institute of Hydrology. These initiatives aim to improve data-driven decision making, innovative financing for sewerage infrastructure, and understanding the effects of climate change on glaciers.
**Key Points / Main Content**
* **Digital Twin of Ganga Project:**
* Sanctioned under the Centre of Excellence at IIT (Delhi).
* Aims to assist data-driven decision making for NMCG and other government agencies.
* Involves hydrological modelling, groundwater stress assessment, hotspot identification, scenario analysis, and basin water resource monitoring.
* Employs artificial intelligence, mathematical simulations, and planning tools.
* **Hybrid Annuity PPP Projects for Sewerage Infrastructure:**
* Introduces innovative financing for sewage treatment plants (STPs).
* Links payments to the actual performance of STPs.
* NMCG has sanctioned a project for interception and diversion (I&D) and STP for pollution abatement of river Mahananda in Siliguri Municipal Town, West Bengal at an estimated cost of Rs 361.86 crores under hybrid annuity PPP mode.
* Government pays 40% of capital cost during construction.
* Remaining 60% of capital cost along with interest is paid as annuity over a 15-year O&M period.
* Concessionaire's performance is assessed against KPIs defined in the concession agreement.
* Annuity payments are released only when performance standards are met.
* Projects do not involve user charges or tariff collection.
* The entire project cost is borne by the Government as central grant-in-aid to the State Government.
* **Glacier Melt Study:**
* Sanctioned to the National Institute of Hydrology.
* Aims to establish a real-time monitoring network across the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda basins.
* Includes assessment of glacier mass balance, melt-runoff contributions, and climate-change impacts.
* Utilizes satellite data, field observations, and SPHY modelling.
* Development of a Web-GIS dashboard for NMCG.
* Objectives include assessing the effects of rising temperatures on glaciers and risks.
**Impact Analysis**
**IIT (Delhi)**
* **Impact**: Tasked with developing and implementing the "digital twin" of the Ganga project, requiring resource allocation and expertise in data modelling and AI.
* **Action Required**: Develop and implement the "digital twin" of the Ganga project, incorporating the listed components (hydrological modelling, etc.).
**NMCG (National Mission for Clean Ganga)**
* **Impact**: Benefits from improved decision-making capabilities through the "digital twin" project, innovative financing models, and enhanced understanding of climate change impacts on glaciers.
* **Action Required**: Integrate the data and insights from the "digital twin" and glacier melt study into planning and implementation strategies.
**Siliguri Municipal Town / West Bengal**
* **Impact**: Benefits from improved sewerage infrastructure and pollution abatement in the Mahananda river through the hybrid annuity PPP project.
* **Action Required**: Collaborate with NMCG and the concessionaire to ensure successful implementation of the sewerage project.
**National Institute of Hydrology**
* **Impact**: Responsible for conducting the glacier melt study, requiring expertise in hydrology, climate science, and remote sensing.
* **Action Required**: Establish and maintain the real-time monitoring network, conduct the necessary assessments, and develop the Web-GIS dashboard for NMCG.
**Government of India**
* **Impact**: Improved effectiveness and efficiency of the National Mission for Clean Ganga through data-driven decision making, innovative financing, and a better understanding of the impacts of climate change on glaciers.
* **Action Required**: Provide continued funding and support for the implementation of these initiatives.
Key Entities Referenced
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG): The central scheme focused on cleaning the Ganga river, introducing innovative financing through Hybrid Annuity PPP projects.
Hybrid Annuity based Public Private Partnership (PPP): A financing model used under the National Mission for Clean Ganga where payments are linked to the performance of sewage treatment plants.
Ministry of Jal Shakti: The ministry under which the National Mission for Clean Ganga operates.
IIT (Delhi): Institution providing the Centre of Excellence for the Digital Twin of Ganga project to assist data-driven decision making.
West Bengal: State where a project for interception and diversion (I&D) and STP for pollution abatement of river Mahananda in Siliguri Municipal Town is being sanctioned.
Ministry of Jal Shakti
GREENLIGHTS FOR NATIONAL MISSION FOR
CLEAN GANGA
प्रव तथ: 08 DEC 2025 3:27PM by PIB Delhi
Digital twin of Ganga has been sanctioned under the Centre of Excellence at IIT (Delhi) to assist data-
driven decision making in the National Mission for Clean Ganga and other agencies of Government.
Hydrological modelling, assessment of groundwater stress, identification of hotspots, scenario analysis,
and monitoring of basin water resources are at the core of this project, which helps in ensuring objectivity
and transparency in the decision-making process. Use of artificial intelligence, mathematical simulations
and planning tools have been envisaged in the project concept.
Hybrid Annuity based Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects under the National Mission for Clean
Ganga (NMCG) introduce an innovative financing approach for sewerage infrastructure. The key
objective is to link payments to the actual performance of sewage treatment plants (STPs). NMCG has
sanctioned a project for interception and diversion (I&D) and STP for pollution abatement of river
Mahananda in Siliguri Municipal Town, West Bengal at an estimated cost of Rs 361.86 crores under
hybrid annuity PPP mode.
Traditionally, there was a concern that during the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) phase, private
operators paid less attention to proper O&M because monthly payments were relatively small compared
to the larger payments received during the construction phase. This sometimes resulted in non-
compliances and poor operational responsiveness.
To address this issue, a new financing model has been developed in which a significant portion of the
construction payment is deferred and released during the O&M phase as annuity, based on the
satisfactory performance of the STP.
Under this model, the government pays only 40% of the capital cost during the construction period. The
remaining 60% of the capital cost along with interest is paid to the concessionaire as annuity over a 15-
year O&M period. This structure ensures that both the government and the private sector share financial
risks. The concessionaire’s performance is assessed against specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
defined in the concession agreement, and annuity payments are released only when performance
standards are met.
These projects do not involve any user charges or tariff collection. The entire project cost is borne by the
Government and provided to State Government as central grant-in-aid.
Glacier melt study has been sanctioned to the National Institute of Hydrology with an aim to establish a
real-time monitoring network across the Bhagirathi and Alaknanda basins (up to Devprayag), covering all
head streams and associated key glacier regions such as Gangotri, Satopanth, Khatling, Pindar,
Chorabari, etc. The project includes assessment of glacier mass balance, melt-runoff contributions, and
climate-change impacts using satellite data, field observations, and SPHY modelling, and development of
a Web-GIS dashboard for NMCG. The envisaged objectives of the project include assessment of the
effects of rising temperatures on glaciers and risks by using the data generated under the project.The information was provided by THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR JAL SHAKTI SHRI RAJ
BHUSHAN CHOUDHARY in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
***
ND
(Rajya Sabha USQ 898)
(रलीज़ आईडी: 2200355) आगंतुक पटल : 565
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