C. R. Paatil chairs 17th Empowered Task Force meeting on Ganga; drain dashboard and smart STP monitoring reviewed
Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Paatil chaired the 17th meeting of the Empowered Task Force on 5 January 2026, reviewing an aerial drainage-mapping dashboard and AI-enabled CCTV monitoring of sewage treatment plants under Namami Gange.
Summary
The 17th meeting of the Empowered Task Force (ETF) was held on 5 January 2026 under the chairmanship of Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Paatil, focusing on data-based monitoring under the Namami Gange Programme. Paatil reviewed a project for aerial drainage mapping with a GIS-based drain dashboard; high-resolution aerial surveys have been completed along the Ganga main stem in Uttar Pradesh. The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is also introducing CCTV-based real-time monitoring of sewage treatment plants with an AI-enabled feature extraction system.
Key facts
- Meeting
- 17th Empowered Task Force, 5 January 2026
- Chair
- C. R. Paatil, Union Minister for Jal Shakti
- Programme
- Namami Gange
- Drain dashboard
- Aerial survey and GIS dashboard; Ganga main stem in UP surveyed
- STP monitoring
- CCTV real-time monitoring with AI feature extraction (NMCG)
Practice MCQs 2 questions
The 17th meeting of the Empowered Task Force (ETF), held on 5 January 2026, reviewed progress under which programme?
Show answer
Correct answer: C — Namami Gange
PIB (Jal Shakti): the ETF meeting focused on monitoring and compliance frameworks under the Namami Gange Programme.
Who chaired the 17th meeting of the Empowered Task Force on Ganga rejuvenation in January 2026?
Show answer
Correct answer: A — C. R. Paatil
PIB (Jal Shakti): the 17th ETF meeting was held under the chairmanship of Union Jal Shakti Minister C. R. Paatil.