Namami Gange gathers steam - 231 rejuvenation projects being launched simultaneously

At last Namami Gange appears to be gathering steam. It was one of the ambitious programs of the Modi government and, 231 projects are being announced simultaneously to begin execution of the Ganga rejuvenation at 104 locations spread across five river basin states. These are Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. Also, along its tributary Yamuna in Haryana and Delhi.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 7 July 2016.

These projects are worth over Rs 2,000 crore and involve modernization and redevelopment of 'ghats' and crematoriums, development of sewage infrastructure, afforestation, plantation of medicinal plants, drains, interceptors, trash skimmers and conservation of biodiversity to ensure clean and free flow of water in the River Ganges.
As Uma Bharati, the minister in-charge of this massive task has explained - it is a historic moment. The first phase would be over in October 2016 and, the second phase will be completed two years later. The program is entirely funded by the Centre, but work is being done with the cooperation of the concerned states.
These projects are in addition to the big projects involving the setting up of new sewage treatment plants (STPs) in various cities of UP, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Ganga clean up mission gets a boost with Army men standing guard

Very soon, a dirty and polluted Ganga would be history because the task of maintaining vigil over its holy waters would be shared by Army men - they will warn people against dirtying the River Ganga and would create awareness among the people about the demerits of polluting the holy river. The Army men would also carry out plantation drives on its banks.
The Ganga cleaning authorities have hired a battalion of the Indian Army for a period of five years for undertaking this task. Subsequently, three more battalions would be added later.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 4 January 2016.

The Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation have set up a Ganga Task Force through Army battalions and they will keep vigil on whoever throws waste in Ganga. Moreover, these Army men would be contact point for the common man in case they have information regarding any industrial unit discharging waste into the river.
The first Army battalion would be stationed at Allahabad Cantonment. At a later date, this battalion will be replaced by the ministry's own team comprising mainly ex-servicemen who reside in villages on the banks of the Ganga.
Incidentally, the Ganga Rejuvenation ministry would be spending around Rs 75 crore on one battalion that will be headed by an officer of the rank of a colonel. The Army would be given funds of Rs 300 crore over the next five years against the four battalions.
It has been clarified that these men would not be policing, rather they will act a watchdogs and keep vigil on the affluent discharging industrial units. They will receive complaints against anyone who is polluting the river. These personnel would be deployed along the 2,625-Km stretch of the river from Gaumukh in Uttarakhand to Ganga Sagar in West Bengal.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)


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Supreme Court seeks verifiable progress on the 30-year-old Ganga cleanup plan

#Ganga #Gangarejuvenation #GangaActionPlan In his enthusiasm to leave his imprints on the sands of time, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced several high profile projects – one of these was the rejuvenation of the Ganga. He has even appointed a full time Minister Uma Bharati to keep track of the progress.
It may be recalled that cleaning of the holy river Ganga had been taken up during the previous regime of Congress and UPA. It was a similar mission and was called the Ganga Action Plan. But, even though several million cusecs of water has flown down the mighty river since then, there has been no tangible progress.
As per reports, the Narendra Modi government had submitted to the court a blueprint of short, medium and long term measures that would involve thousands of crore of investment to restore the glory of the holy river. As a part of the action plan, the Centre had identified 118 towns on the bank of Ganga as the first target to achieve total sanitation including water waste treatment and solid waste management.
Moreover, it was expected that the consortium of seven IITs would address the issue relating to almost 100 km-long eco-sensitive zone ranging from Gomukh to Uttarkashi. The ultimate objective was the rejuvenation of the 2,500 km long river.
The Supreme Court has, therefore, asked for a fresh response of the government about the steps that it has taken to implement the stage-wise projects for cleaning the Ganga in the states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The SC has assigned a time frame of six weeks for submission of the progress.