All hydroelectric projects on the Ganga could be asked to reduce their power generation — possibly up to 50 per cent of capacity — in an effort to provide a clean and continuous flow of the river's waters, if a proposal by Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan is found to be legally viable.

“We cannot shut down existing projects, but we are exploring the legality of reducing the capacity of operational hydroelectric plants,” she told The Hindu on Tuesday. “A clean Ganga is my top priority at present… we need to get extremely proactive.”