NEW DELHI: Three years after he took charge as Prime Minister, the muck in the Ganga is still bothering Narendra Modi. Unhappy with the snails pace in ridding the holy river of garbage, Modi wants the National Mission for Clean Ganga, the nodal agency for cleaning the river, to inform people about cleaning work done in the last three years.
In a review meeting last week, Modi was informed about the status of projects related to sewage treatment plants, construction of ghats, making banks along the Ganga defecation-free and improving water quality.
Making the Ganga pollution-free was part of the BJP’s 2014 election manifesto. Modi was elected to the Lok Sabha from Varanasi, one of the holiest cities along the river, and had vowed to clean the river. “The Prime Minister was clear that people think nothing has been done to cleanse the river.
He was speaking based on the feedback he received from people,” said an official in the Ministry of Water Resources. When he was informed that work has started to pick up and 50 projects worth Rs 10,000 crore are expected to be sanctioned by July 31, Modi wanted the Namami Ganga Mission to take up public outreach and rope in people for achieving the targets.
Modi’s push for public outreach has made Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti chart out a fortnight-long Ganga Nirikshan Abhiyan starting Friday. She will traverse 2,500 km from Gangasagar in West Bengal to Gangotri in Uttarakhand. Bharti will attend Ganga chaupals and interact with stakeholders such as NGOs, government agencies, institutions and people to make Namami Gange a success.
In 2014, the NDA government had approved Namami Gange as its flagship programme with a budget of Rs 20,000 crore to clean and rejuvenate the Ganga.