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‘Focus on upstream dists’: High-level committee to steer Gomti’s revival
Divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant said the renewed push underlines the state government’s view that the health of the Gomti in Lucknow is linked to activities in upstream districts. “All districts along the river are working in coordination to ensure effective monitoring, pollution control and protection of the riverfront,” he said.
The Gomti river’s health has long been measured in Lucknow, but its cure depends on actions taken miles upstream. Recognising this, authorities from Lakhimpur, Sitapur, Hardoi and the state capital are launching a united front to revive the ailing waterway, treating its course as a single entity rather than a collection of jurisdictional fragments.
Following chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s call for a clean, uninterrupted and pollution-free Gomti, a review meeting is scheduled for Wednesday to assess progress made by the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) and other agencies involved in river-cleaning efforts.
Divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant said the renewed push underlines the state government’s view that the health of the Gomti in Lucknow is linked to activities in upstream districts. “All districts along the river are working in coordination to ensure effective monitoring, pollution control and protection of the riverfront,” he said.
The clean-up drive is being overseen by a three-tier committee structure at state, divisional and district levels, constituted following a high-level meeting chaired by the chief minister on October 12, 2025. A government order dated December 1, 2025, laid out the framework for coordinated implementation of the river rejuvenation plan.
The initiative includes efforts to identify, remove and prevent encroachments along the banks of the Gomti. Illegal constructions and unauthorised activities have narrowed the river’s natural flow and damaged its floodplains. District administrations are conducting surveys to demarcate river boundaries and reclaim encroached land, while creating awareness about the need to protect the river ecosystem.
The committee is headed by the divisional commissioner, Lucknow, as chairperson. It includes district magistrates of Sitapur, Hardoi and Lakhimpur Kheri for non-municipal areas, the municipal commissioner of Lucknow for municipal corporation areas, the vice-chairperson of the Lucknow Development Authority, chief engineers from the irrigation department and Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam (urban and rural), senior officials from the pollution control board, representatives of the Territorial Army and the Gomti Task Force under the National Mission for Clean Ganga, among others.
Venkatesh Dutta, professor at Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow, has been nominated as an expert member, while retired Lieutenant Colonel Devendra Chaudhary, co-founder of Atulya Ganga Trust, has been included as a special invitee.
