NEW DELHI:With only Rs 70 crore in the kitty of Clean Ganga Fund, the NDA government has decided to invite CEOs of top 50 Indian companies for a fundraiser for the Namami Gange Project, which will be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in November-end.
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is preparing a formal invitation that will be sent to CEOs of companies like Reliance, Tata, Bajaj, Adani Group, Hero Motocorp, HCL, TCS, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Infosys and PSUs like BHEL, BPCL, Coal India, NTPC and Gail. The idea is to seek support from the corporate sector as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative and involve them in the herculean task of cleaning the holy river. CEOs attending the meeting will be briefed about steps taken to clean the Ganga.
“Fundraisers are common during Presidential elections and at charity events in the West. We thought of hosting one to rope in the corporate sector that can play a key role in cleaning the Ganga as far as funding is concerned,” said a source in the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, adding that the government has to look for extra budgetary support if it aspires to clean the river.
Clean India Mission is Modi’s favourite project, and works related to Ganga cleaning are being directly monitored by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The government is unhappy with the lukewarm response shown by India Inc towards the mission as no company has come forward with their CSR funds.
“The government wants to give a push for generating outside funding through a fundraiser event and we are hopeful that with the PM at the core, funds will flow in. We will propose to corporate houses ways like adoption of towns, running of STPs and participation in other ways like construction of toilets,” the source added.
The Central government has prepared a three phase—short term, mid-term and long term—plan spanning 18 years to clean the river, which includes ensuring 100 per cent sewage infrastructure in 118 cities along the Ganga basin at a cost of Rs 51,000 crore.