Citizens' Accountability LedgerWho owned the mess? 25 years, every party, on the record

Case 24 · Public money

Namami Gange. Tens of thousands of crore, a river still filthy

Launched 2014, ongoing

Money spent, results missing

4,458 days since Recorded outcome: Money spent, results missing.

Human cost Est
The crores who live along a Ganga still carrying large volumes of untreated sewage
Financial cost Est
Outlays of ₹20,000 cr and then ₹22,500 cr; over ₹13,000 cr spent; CAG flagged unspent funds and failing sewage plants

What happened

Launched in 2014 as the Prime Minister's flagship river-cleaning mission with an outlay of ₹20,000 crore, later topped up to ₹22,500 crore, Namami Gange has seen more than ₹13,000 crore spent, yet the Ganga still carries large volumes of untreated sewage.

Claim against record

What the government said

The government says pollution has fallen, hundreds of sewage plants have been built or sanctioned, and wildlife such as river dolphins has returned.

What the record shows

Money spent, results missing

Successive CAG audits have found underutilised funds, delayed and faulty sewage-treatment plants, and, in recent state audits, only a handful of plants meeting pollution norms, even as the government advertises the mission as a triumph. A decade and tens of thousands of crore later, the core promise of a clean Ganga is largely unmet, and the gap between the spending, the claims and the state of the river has never been honestly owned.

What accountability should have looked like

Tie funding to measurable water-quality outcomes, build and actually maintain the treatment plants, and publish honest, independent monitoring of the river against every rupee spent.

Ministers and office-holders responsible

Naming who held the portfolio is a matter of public record. It is not by itself a finding of personal responsibility for any death or any rupee.

Sources

T1 primary record · T2 reporting · T3 partisan

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Cite or export this case

Citizens' Accountability Ledger, "Namami Gange. Tens of thousands of crore, a river still filthy" (Launched 2014, ongoing), case-50. https://whoisresponsible.xyz/case/case-50/

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