$(a)$ Discuss the major programs that the Ministry of Environment and Forests,Government of India,has initiated for saving major Indian rivers from pollution.
$(b)$ Ganga has recently been declared the national river. Discuss the implication with respect to pollution of this river.

(A) Untreated sewage is often discharged directly into rivers,leading to pollution and an increase in water-borne diseases. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has initiated the Ganga Action Plan $(GAP)$ and Yamuna Action Plan $(YAP)$ to save these major rivers from pollution. Under these plans,it is proposed to build a large number of sewage treatment plants so that only treated sewage is discharged into the rivers.
$(b)$ The Ganga is the largest river in India with extraordinary religious importance for Hindus. Situated along its banks are some of the world's oldest inhabited cities,such as Varanasi and Patna. It provides water to about $40\%$ of India's population across $11$ states,serving an estimated population of $500$ million people or more,which is larger than any other river in the world. $A$ number of initiatives have been undertaken to clean the river but failed to deliver desired results. The National River Ganga Basin Authority $(NRGBA)$ was established by the Central Government of India on $20$ February $2009$ under Section $3(3)$ of the Environment Protection Act,$1986$. It also declared the Ganga as the National River of India to prioritize its conservation and pollution control.