Context-Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi chaired the first meeting of the National Ganga Council in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh

• The Council has been given overall responsibility for superintendence of pollution prevention and rejuvenation of River Ganga Basin, including Ganga and its tributaries. The first meeting of the Council was aimed at reinforcing the importance of a ‘Ganga-centric’ approach in all departments of the concerned states as well as relevant Central Ministries.

National Ganga Council

• The National Ganga Council (NGC) is an authority created in October 2016 under the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016, dissolving the National Ganga River Basin Authority.
• In this backdrop, NGC has been established as an authority and National Mission for Clean Ganga has been also converted into an authority.
• The Council has been given overall responsibility for the superintendence of pollution prevention and rejuvenation of River Ganga Basin, including Ganga and its tributaries.

Composition

• The Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairperson for the NGC
• Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation will be the ex-officio Vice-Chairperson.
• The other ex-officio members of the council are from various ministries and CMs of the corresponding states among other stakeholders.

Jurisdiction of the NGC

• The jurisdiction of the NGC shall extend to the States comprising River Ganga Basin, namely, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Haryana, and the NCR of Delhi and such other States, having major tributaries of the River Ganga