NEW DELHI: Jal Shakti ministry has asked all projects on Ganga to divert water for irrigation, hydropower and industrial use in order to meet the directive of meeting minimum environment flow by year-end instead of 2021.
The ministry’s directive comes based on a report by the Central Water Commission (CWC) submitted in July this year, recommending that all the existing projects have provision for releasing the mandated e-flow through controlled gated waterways and structural modifications in the body of the project may not be required for the same.
“The central government is of the view that the time period of three years allowed to the existing projects to ensure proper compliance of the mandated environmental flows is excessive and not necessary,” said a
gazette notification issued by the ministry alter previous order that allowed 3 years time.
According to official records, there are 784 dams, 92 weirs, 66 barrages and 45 functional lift schemes in the Ganga river basin.