Union Minister for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharti has called for close coordination with Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to achieve the goal of clean Ganga. Launching the Nirmal Ganga Sahbhagita, a sustainable initiative with ULBs situated on the banks of the river Ganga here today she said that economic and cultural significance of Ganga is no less than its religious significance. The Minister said millions of our countrymen have a tremendous devotion towards this sacred river and we have to convert this devotion into a big public movement. Sushri Bharti said ULBs have a major role to play in this regard as they are directly communicating with the people at the grass root level. She said if necessary, a separate act will be considered for clean Ganga mission. The Minister said clean Ganga mission should be an example for the whole world and we should be able to invite foreigners to see our clean Ganga. She said this task is very arduous and complex but not impossible to achieve.
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), an autonomous society under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has launched ‘Nirmal Ganga Sahbhagita’ for initiating a sustainable partnership with 118 Urban Local Bodies located along the River for a Clean Ganga. Main objectives of the‘Nirmal Ganga Sahbhagita’ is to provide required assistance by the Centre to Urban Local Bodies for following activities:
• Formation of Ganga PIU in various towns to enable implementation of the ‘Clean Ganga’ Programme at the town level
• Systematic Solid Waste Management near Ghats and confluence of Nalas into the River
• Maintaining the 500 mt. area along River Ganga and connecting drains as a ‘litter-free zone’
• Providing livelihood opportunities for unemployed youth to monitor the litter free zone and the health of the river
• Public Outreach Activities
For this purpose, NMCG will enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with each ULB and work with them to achieve the cherished objective of a Clean Ganga. Chairperson/Municipal Commissioner/Executive Officer of 78 ULBs from the States of Uttrakhand, UP, Bihar and Jharkhand attended the day long dialogue. It may be recalled that only last month NMCG had directed these ULBs through a public notice to furnish the action plans for construction / rehabilitation and / or upgradation of the sewage treatment plants (STPs), installation of requisite equipment / augmentation of the STPs by such municipalities / urban local bodies and Effluent Treatment Plants / Common Effluent Treatment Plant (ETPs / CETPs ), zero liquid discharge / real time monitoring for the discharge of trade effluents for abatement of pollution by the industries, as the case may be within 15 days.
Untreated municipal sewage account for the bulk (over 75 percent) of pollution in Ganga, mostly generated by the larger cities. Currently, the responsibility for provision of adequate sanitation and waste management services overlap considerably across the State Governments and the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs). Ownership and commitment of local agencies, supported by an incentive to recover Operations and Maintenance (O&M) costs, is required to progressively build technical and management capacity for effective implementation of Clean-up Programme of River Ganga.