NEW DELHI: Five years after the Namami Gange Programme was launched under the National Mission for Clean Ganga, there has been very little progress in implementing the various projects planned under the programme, latest data indicates.
For instance, only 13 per cent of the proposed sewage treatment capacity to clean the river has been built so far and funds allocated for various projects remain under-utilised.A total of 305 projects were sanctioned under the Clean Ganga Mission at an estimated cost of `28,613 crore to be completed by 2022.
Of that, only 109 projects have been completed and made operational, the data compiled by the Ministry of Jal Shakti shows.
Nearly half of the 305 sanctioned projects concern with the building of sewage treatment facilities. But only 43 such facilities have been built so far.Also, against the sewage treatment capacity of 3741.92 Million Litres Per Day (MLD), only 495.8 MLD (13 per cent) of sewage treatment plant (STP) capacity has been built so far. The Namami Gange Programme was sanctioned in 2015.
Appearing before a Parliament Standing Committee on Water Resources on October 23, Department of Water Resources Secretary U P Singh admitted that the funds allocated for the project remain under-utilised.The committee had warned that projects need to be executed at the earliest or the delay would result in cost overrun.