Govt. launches Rs. 1,500 cr projects on Ganga

Fast tracking an ambitious Namami Gange Programme, the government recently launched 231 projects, including installation of sewage treatment plants and ghat constructions, at over 100 locations in seven states with an estimated cost of Rs. 1,500cr, said the concerned minister, Uma Bharti, while laying the foundation stone of 43 projects worth Rs. 250cr. Under the Namami Gange Programme, the government aimed at cleaning the holy river and ensuring its unfettered flow in states like Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal, besides Delhi and Haryana through which Ganga's tributary Yamuna passes. The state government in Uttarakhand in a joint initiative with the Centre, launched 43 such projects in Haridwar only. Announcing that the Centre is contemplating a legislation called the Ganga Act, for the success of Namami Gange, Bharati elaborated that industries will not just be barred from dumping untreated waste into the Holy River, but treated water will also be diverted for irrigation purposes.

Published: 11 July 2016