NEW DELHI: The NDA Government will on Monday kick-start the ‘Ganga Cleaning Mission’ with the launch of National Dialogue on Ganga, which will see environmentalists, activists and saints coming together on one platform to carve out a strategy to clean the mighty river.
The meeting is an inter-ministerial effort with Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti, Environment Minister Prakesh Javadekar and Tourism Minister Shripad Naik coming together to achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of a clean Ganga.
About 200 delegates, including scientists, environmentalists, members of NGOs, technocrats, saints and public representatives are expected to attend the daylong meet. The aim is to invite suggestions from as many people as possible to ensure free flow in the river, which is the lifeline to 40 per cent of the country’s population.
“To resolve complex problems associated with the Ganga, effective inter-ministerial, Centre-state and inter-state coordination are required,” said a statement issued by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). The government had last month announced the setting up of a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) under the Ministry of Water Resources to prepare an action plan to make the Ganga pollution free. The committee will look into development of inland waterways and tourism along the river banks.
The government has also decided to develop the river as a tourism destination, means of transport, fisheries development and power generation. It was also decided that the CoS representing the four ministries will come out with a detailed proposal to achieve the promises made by Modi.
The government is also planning to set up a research institute on the Ganga under the HRD Ministry, possibly at Roorkee, and the Tourism Ministry will take measures to develop tourism along the river banks.
Modi, who represents the Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency, had promised to work out a plan to clean the river.