India, June 2 -- Despite considerable funding under the Centre's flagship Namami Gange programme, Uttarakhand fails to keep the Ganga clean. More than a third of sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the state dump untreated sewage into the river, as per the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).

Namami Gange was rolled out in 2014 to curb pollution in the Ganga. Under the programme, funds are disbursed to all Ganga basin states to set up STPs to treat wastewater before it is discharged into the river, and to improve sewerage networks in Ganga-front cities. In 2017, the Union government audited all the Ganga basin states and found high levels of pollution across its stretch. The report made recommendations to reduce discharge of unt...