The Uttar Pradesh government’s efforts to conserve and clean the Ganga river in the state have achieved another milestone when the National Mission for Clean Ganga approved five projects worth Rs 73 crores in its 56th Executive Committee meeting held in New Delhi on Saturday.
Rajeev Kumar Mittal, Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga chaired the meeting. The approved projects are pivotal to the improvement of the river’s ecosystem as these ensure minimized level of pollution in the river Ganga, thereby maintaining its cleanliness and ensuring its conservation, officials here claimed.
After careful consideration, the Executive Committee appraised the necessity of the projects. To begin with, the committee approved the project “Establishment of Secretariat for Smart Laboratory on Clean Rivers (SLCR) at Varanasi” presented and controlled by IIT (BHU) under the supervision of the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
This ambitious project intends to deploy global expertise and adopt sustainable practices to rejuvenate and give a facelift to all the small rivers spread across the country. This, it does by creating the right balance between the environment, the economy and society as a whole.
Another crucial project on “Faecal Sludge Management for Abatement of Pollution of River Ganga at Dalmau Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh” was approved as part of the Namami Gange Mission to reduce the pollution of the river Ganga. Under this project, an 8 KLD Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant will be established, along with a 15 KW Solar Power Plant and one Solar Inverter. Based on the DBOT model, the project is approved at an overall cost of Rs 4.40 crores which covers operations and management of the project for a stipulated period of five years.
The sewerage project focusing on cleaning the river Ganga has been officially approved for implementation in Gulaothi, located in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh.
This project aims to prevent pollution in the East Kali River, a tributary of the river Ganga which flows through eight districts of Uttar Pradesh.
Approved at an estimated cost of Rs 50.98 crores, the project is dedicated to the interception and diversion of drains and sewage treatment works with a capacity of 10 MLD (million litres per day) at Gulaothi Town of Uttar Pradesh. This project draws focus on the operation and management of the STPs for a stipulated period of 15 years.
“Construction of Arth Ganga Centre and Branding of Railway Station Chheoki, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh and in-principle approval of development of Arth Ganga Centres in Ganga Basin States” is yet another pivotal project that will see the light of the day. The establishment of the Arth Ganga Centre at Railway Station Chheoki in Prayagraj is an attempt to create awareness about the river Ganga and the environment during the Maha Kumbh Mela, 2025 and thereafter. The total cost of this project will be Rs 1.80 crores, officials said.
Additionally, “Restoration Plan of Lower Order Streams and Tributaries in the Upper Gomti River Basin through Nature-Based Solutions (Nbs)” is another initiative approved by the Executive Committee. Proposed by the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Central University, Lucknow, the project lays emphasis on the rejuvenation of lower-order streams and tributaries in the upper Gomti River Basin through nature-based solutions to improve the health of the river Ganga. This project, costing approximately Rs 81.09 lakh, holds immense significance as small rivers and streams are vital to the water flow and ecosystem of larger rivers. Also, river restoration is significant for sustainable water management, making this project a priority.