DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand government has approved organic farming in 42 villages in five districts of the state in the vicinity of the river Ganga under the 'Namami Gange' project.
Madan Kaushik, the state cabinet minister and spokesperson for the government said, "The decision has been taken to cut down pollution due to chemical fertilizers. We have also selected 3,900 organic farming clusters between financial years 2018-19 and 2020-2021 under which organic farming is being implemented in 50,000 hectares of area benefitting over 1.25 lakh farmers."
The decision aims to curb pollution right from the river's origin at Gangotri till Gangasagar in West Bengal where the river merges into the Bay of Bengal.
The length of Ganga in the Himalayan state including its tributaries is about 250 km.
The project was launched during the lockdown month of May under which the agriculture departments of the states where the Ganga flows will work on promoting organic farming in the villages situated along the river with funds for the same from the National Mission for Clean Ganga.
In Uttarakhand, where the holy river originates, the project will cover the villages located alongside it from Devprayag in Tehri Garhwal district where its two main tributaries Alaknanda and Bhagirathi, merge in it.
The initiative also includes the villages adjacent to the two tributaries till Haridwar from where the Ganga enters in neighboring Uttar Pradesh.
Last week, the officials had said that while Ganga water from Gangotri to Rishikesh has become clean enough for drinking, the water between Rishikesh and Haridwar, the water is fit for bathing.
They added that out of 32 sewer treatment plants proposed in the state, 29 have been functional. The three remaining STPs will be completed by March next year.