National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Director General on Friday asked officials to put sewage infrastructure projects n the fast track in Varanasi.
NMCG DG Rajiv Ranjan Mishra told officials to speed up sewage infrastructure projects. There are two major upcoming STP projects in Varanasi that could prevent 19 crore litres of sewage water from entering the river once they are complete, he said.
Of these, the 140 MLD STP in Dinapur is almost complete, while the 50 MLD STP project in Ramana under Hybrid Annuity Mode is progressing well. One of the most important features of HAM model is that both the annuity and operation and maintenance payments are linked to the performance of the STP. This would ensure continued performance of the assets created due to better accountability, ownership and optimal performance, the DG said.
He also reviewed 10 projects of rehabilitation of old trunk sewer in Varanasi, work on all of which are in the final stages of execution, said a senior officer of the Water Resources Ministry. The rehabilitation work is expected to be complete by October 2018. Apart from the STP works, Mishra reviewed the cleaning being undertaken on the 84 ghats in the city, spread along an 8.5 km stretch, he said.
Activities including sweeping, washing, mopping, collection and transportation of silt, construction and demolition waste, awareness generation and education are conducted as part of this project.
As per feedback received from the local population and visitors, 65.4% people have rated this work as very good and 33.5% people rated it as good. Mishra also took stock of the progress on a project for improvement of 26 bathing ghats in Varanasi, which was sanctioned in January 2018 at a cost of Rs. 11.73 crore.