Uttar Pradesh : Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Mr. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra today reviewed the progress of projects under Namami Gange programme in Uttar Pradesh.

DG, NMCG requested Chief Secretary, U. P Government, for active involvement of 26 District Ganga Committees to be constituted for the cause of Ganga Rejuvenation.

While reviewing all 30 sewerage projects being undertaken in Uttar Pradesh under Namami Gange programme, NMCG urged the UP government to complete 8 of the 10 ongoing projects by December 2018 and start work on the remaining sanctioned projects at the earliest. In addition, the UP administration was also asked to complete the repair/rehabilitation/construction work of 87 ghats by March 2019.

During the meeting, a detailed discussion on preparations of Mahakumbh 2019 at Allahabad took place. NMCG asked the UP government to expedite the process of cleaning all 35 drains in Allahabad that meets river Ganga upstream through bioremediation so that projects could be implemented well before the Mahakumbh begins.

NMCG urged the government of Uttar Pradesh to focus on tributaries of Ganga and send proposals for cities of Meerut, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur so that work on cleaning of tributaries like Hindon, Ram Ganga, Kali, Gomti etc may begin at the earliest.

NMCG also raised the important issue of Solid Waste going into Ganga through drains with the government of Uttar Pradesh. UP government was requested to direct the Urban Local Bodies along river Ganga to prepare an action plan to provide adequate arrangements in the drains, stretching at least a kilometre from the river’s confluence, to tap the solid waste entering into the river.

The project of Composite Ecological Task Force Battalion (Ganga Task Force) which has taken off under the aegis of Namami Gange programme was also discussed during the meeting. A Ganga Task Force will be deputed in three important towns of Allahabad, Varanasi and Kanpur to assists Ganga Rejuvenation efforts. The orientation meetings with the administration are being held. Principal Secretary, Environment and Forest, Ms Renuka Kumar while explaining the massive greening “Ganga Haritama Abhiyan” going on in Uttar Pradesh assured NMCG that necessary training shall be imparted to Ganga Task Force by the Environment Department and UP Pollution Control Board. She also suggested in the meeting to have some common training and orientation for Ganga Task Force and Ganga Praharies, a group of self-motivated volunteers along river Ganga, to maximize public participation.

The meeting was also attended by Executive Director (Projects), NMCG Mr. Hitesh Kumar S. Makwana, Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Rajiv Kumar, Principal Secretary (Urban Development), Uttar Pradesh, Mr. Manoj Kumar Singh and Principal Secretary (Environment & Forest), Uttar Pradesh, Ms. Renuka Kumar.