Projects worth Rs 295 Cr sanctioned under Namami Gange Mission

NewsBharati    04-Jan-2018
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New Delhi, January 4: To rejuvenate the holy River Ganga and boost cleaning process, the Executive Committee of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) today approved five projects worth Rs 295 crore in the sector of sewage infrastructure, Ghat development and research.

Three projects pertain to sewage management in West Bengal at an estimated cost of Rs 278.6 crore, one relates to sewage management in Uttarakhand at an estimated cost of Rs 4.68 crore and one project worth Rs 11.73 crore is related to ghat improvement works in Varanasi. 

With these approvals, all projects related to sewage management in high pollution load towns along river Ganga have been sanctioned.

In West Bengal, sewage management works in Kamarhati and Baranagar Municipalities at an estimated cost of Rs 172.10 crore under PPP-based Hybrid Annuity mode, pollution abatement works for river Ganga in Berhampore Municipality at an estimated cost of Rs 52.2 crore and sewage management works in Nabadwip Municipality at an estimated cost of Rs 54.3 crore have been approved.

In Uttarakhand, approval was given to one project for laying of sewer lines in some of the uncovered areas in Haridwar at an estimated cost of Rs 4.68 crore.

In Varanasi, a project worth Rs 11.73 crore for repair and retrofitting of various ghats was approved. This project aims to strengthen the poor condition of ghats through bolder pitching and stone steps to ensure improved life of ghats apart from avoiding risk and inconvenience to the visitors and pilgrims.

Interestingly, Ganga, the sacred river to Hindus, has been found to be the second-most polluting river in the world, discharging 115,000 tonnes of plastic each year, as per a recent study. The researchers at The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch foundation developing new technologies for ridding the oceans of plastic, found that rivers carry an estimated 1.15-2.41 million tonnes of plastic into the sea every year.