Noida: UP to use Namami Gange programme funds to clean Hindon - Hindustan Times
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Noida: UP to use Namami Gange programme funds to clean Hindon

By, Greater Noida
Jul 23, 2017 11:11 PM IST

The Hindon originates from Pur Ka Tanda village in Saharanpur and confluences with the Yamuna near Momnathal in Sector 151, Noida. In its journey to reach Momnathal, the river passes through Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad.

Authorities in Uttar Pradesh will draw funds from Namami Gange programme to clean river Hindon.

If the Hindon is not cleaned, then the polluted river will contaminate groundwater along its 400 km stretch, thereby affecting hundreds of villages and towns.(Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)
If the Hindon is not cleaned, then the polluted river will contaminate groundwater along its 400 km stretch, thereby affecting hundreds of villages and towns.(Burhaan Kinu/HT Photo)

The state government has asked Meerut divisional commissioner Dr Prabhat Kumar to begin rejuvenation of the 400km long river Hindon that is dying a slow death because it is now only meant to carry sewage of six districts through which it flows.

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The Hindon originates from Pur Ka Tanda village in Saharanpur and confluences with the Yamuna near Momnathal in Sector 151, Noida. In its journey to reach Momnathal, the river passes through Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Meerut, Baghpat, Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad.

“The Centre has agreed to provide us funds under Namami Gange programme for cleaning up the Hindon. I have met with the district magistrates of all the districts through which the river passes, as well as officials of the municipalities and zila panchayats regarding the rejuvenation plan. I have directed all of them to draw up a plan to clean the Hindon because we do not have any problem of funds and resources,” Kumar said.

Namami Gange Programme is the Centre’s integrated conservation mission, a flagship programme approved in June 2014. It has a budget of Rs 20,000 crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of the Ganga.

“The Centre is ready to give us funds under Namami Gange Programme because cleaning all rivers is a priority for the government. To begin with, I have asked authorities to plant trees along the Hindon and make villages on its embankment open defecation free. We will take up the projects one by one,” Kumar said.

In June 2016, the Uttar Pradesh irrigation department cleared several proposals, including construction of two reservoirs in Buddhakhera Pundhir and Jajner in Saharanpur, with an aim to clean the river, which is the lifeline of Western UP cities. However, the government is yet to implement the proposals.

“If the Hindon is not cleaned, then the polluted river will contaminate groundwater along its 400 km stretch, thereby affecting hundreds of villages and towns,” said Vikrant Tongad, an environmentalist.

Western UP cities and towns Saharanpur, Baghpat, Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida, among others, are located along the river.

According to a report of Noida regional pollution control board, the Hindon water is so polluted that no aquatic life can survive in it, forget it being used for human consumption or bathing. Seventeen kilometres of the Hindon falls in Noida and Greater Noida.

In January 2016, the Central Pollution Control Board in its report said the Hindon water does not meet the prescribed standard of primary water quality for bathing, as per the norms laid down in environment (protection) 1986. The UP government, however, has set no deadline for cleaning the river.

“I have asked all government bodies to work at their level. Municipalities located along the river will work to check dumping of sewage into the Hindon. We will build sewage treatment plants wherever required and we will make dysfunctional STPs operational soon,” Kumar said.

The UP irrigation department has been told to work on projects such as construction of check dams, ponds and water storage tanks along the river, the official said.

“The government alone cannot clean this river. We need the support of the public, particularly farmers and those running industries along the Hindon. We will educate people and involve them in its rejuvenation work,” Kumar said.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Vinod Rajput writes on environment, infrastructure, real estate and government policies in Noida and Greater Noida. He has reported on environment and infrastructure in Delhi, Gurgaon and Panchkula in the past.

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