World Bank approves Rs 30 billion loan for Namami Gange programme

The World Bank has approved a five-year loan worth Rs 30 billion to the Namami Gange programme to develop and improve infrastructure projects to abate pollution in the river basin. So far, 313 projects worth Rs 250 billion have been sanctioned under the programme, which has already received Rs 45.35 billion from the World Bank as part of the first phase of the National Ganga River Basin Project. In the second phase, Rs 11.34 billion will be used for three new hybrid annuity model-based projects in Agra, Meerut and Saharanpur for the tributaries of the Ganga river.