World Bank has approved a loan worth USD 1 billion for the National Ganga River Basin Project for cleaning the river. A World Bank statement said in New Delhi that the loan, spread over eight years, will assist the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) in carrying out various activities that would help clean the highly polluted river. The approval was granted in the Bank's Board of Executive DirectorsThe Project will help the NGRBA set up a state-of-the-artGanga Knowledge Centre to act as a repository for the conservation of the Ganga. Statement says that the NGRBA will fund investments like sewage treatment plants and sewer networks that are critical for reducing the pollution. It will also finance the up gradation of the Ganga water quality monitoring system and carry out an inventory of all sources of pollution.