#CleanGanga: Heading closer to 2020, only 25% funds spent so far

NP NEWS 24 ONLINE- As the central government self-declared deadline of 2020 to clean up Ganga, according to a data report, so far less than 25% of Rs 200 billion to be spent by 2019 under the Clean Ganga Mission.

The Clean Ganga Project, also called as Namami Gange was launched in 2015 where 48 billion has been spent on projects meant to clean the Ganga and its tributaries of Yamuna and Chambal–over about four years to November 2018.

According to a monthly report, surprisingly in October, 37 billion that’s around 77% of the expenditure of Rs 48 billion, had been spent on creating no more than 11% of sewage-treatment infrastructure required in cities falling on the banks of Ganga in riverine states, including Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Among the 96 sewage-infrastructure projects sanctioned since 2015, 23 were completed by October this year, 44 are under construction and 29 still remain clueless.

The 2,500km long river Ganga flowing from Himalayas and waters the Gangetic plain of North India has been on the agenda of consecutive governments since 1986, with about 40 billion already spent till 2014.

After wasting massive amount on the river, it still remains dirt and toxic.

According to the government data, the major reason Ganga is polluted due to discharge of untreated and partially treated sewage from the cities as Ganga receives about 2,900 million litres of sewage discharge per day of which only 48 % is treated.

Under the project, the Central Government had to create an additional 52% sewage treatment capacity to bridge the gap but by October 2018, only 11% capacity was completed.

Recently, environmentalist, GD Agarwal passed away due to ‘fast-unto-death’ hunger strike for 111 days. he raised concern towards the impacts of the so-called cleaning projects is not visible on the quality of the river water as well as all construction activities of hydro-power projects should be stopped and no new projects should be approved on the rivers – Alaknanda, Mandakini, Nandakini, Dhauliganga and Pindar, deforestation and mining activities should be stopped at least in basic area of Haridwar Kumbh area as well as pass the Draft Rules 2012 for river Ganga prepared by Ganga Mahasabha immediately either through the Parliament or through ordinance by the President and form a Ganga-Bhakt council by nominating 20 dedicated experts.