Need more fund to clean Ganga: Uttarakhand tells Centre
Uttarakhand has sought more than ₹500 crore from the central government to ensure cleaning of Ganga under Namami Gange Programme.
Uttarakhand has sought more than ₹500 crore from the central government to ensure cleaning of Ganga under Namami Gange Programme.
Officials said sewerage disposal was one aspect in the cities located on Ganga banks but the bigger challenge was solid waste management.
Moreover, majority rural areas have no liquid or solid waste management and that poses a challenge for the Namami Gange Programme, they said.
“Urban bodies have their own constraints as far as solid waste management is concerned. They have submitted projects and seek ₹230 crore to strengthen their work,” said Raghav Langhar, the project director (Uttarakhand), Namami Gange.
Speaking during a daylong workshop here on Wednesday, the official said it was a general perception that execution of Namami Gange was slow in Uttarakhand.
Langhar said this was because the filth is visible on roads and towns nestled on Ganga banks.
“However, cleaning is a mandate of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. We need ₹310 crore to manage liquid and solid waste management in some 3,000 villages in the Ganga valley” Langhar said.
Uttarakhand is among five states those are covered under the 1st phase of Namami Gange Programme.
The officials said they would be proposing to constitute a State Ganga Committee and District Ganga Committees to streamline works related to Ganga.
Recently, ₹875 crores were approved for carrying various works in the state under the programme.
Known as the world’s third largest river, Ganga travels 2,525 kms from Gangotri in north India to south and eastern India and finally submerges into the Bay of Bengal. Millions of Hindus living across the globe consider its water as holy.
