To act as trend setter for taking up similar action plans in other grossly polluted stretches in other rivers. The ultimate objective of the GAP is to have an approach of integrated river basin management considering the various dynamic inter-actions between abiotic and biotic eco-system. Revised sanction was issued in March with escalated cost of Rs crore and a deadline of January and it has now become a project of the Central government.
Besides, CAG also pointed out poor financial management for the programme in its December report. It is a fund under which entities or a commoner can contribute for the Ganga clean up. However, NMCG could not utilise any amount out of the Clean Ganga Fund and the entire amount was lying in banks due to non-finalisation of action plan. NMCG replied on August that after its constitution as an authority and its operationalisation by December , the pace of various projects has accelerated.
This is likely to result in achievement of not only physical targets but also higher expenditure progress by the end of However, NMCG documents reveal that till August 31, though projects worth Rs 22, crore have been sanctioned but total funds utilised were only 23 per cent of it. The CAG also came down heavily on Centre for spending injudiciously on media blitzkrieg.
CAG observed that NMCG hired other advertising agencies for releasing print advertisements in leading national newspapers across the country and incurred an expenditure of Rs 2.
This was in violation of government policy and resulted in avoidable payment, the CAG said. Challenge V: Governance glitches The cleaning of the Ganga requires seamless coordination between the agencies responsible for carrying out different tasks. This calls for vision and a clear-cut governance strategy. However, till date no detail is available as to how these ministries are functioning for better convergence. It is still lacking in Namami Gange.
If the departments do not coordinate well, the programme will not achieve desired objectives. I tried enquiring often, but to no avail. The draft Ganga protection law is with the government but experts question its utility. What is required is an autonomous body for the rejuvenation of Ganga which is independent of the government when it comes to its functioning. The Empowered Task Force led by Union minister of water resources has met only thrice after the gazette notification while it was supposed to meet once every three months.
It has met twice under the chairmanship of the then minister Uma Bharti and once under Nitin Gadkari, who took the charge of the ministry in September The mandatory exercise of conducting an annual Ganga safety audit has not been done even once. Also the top post of NMCG is working like musical chairs with seven senior officers appointed since The first head Rajiv Ranjan Mishra is back at the helm after five changes. This is one of the prime reasons for the underperformance of NMCG.
People who are living in the Ganga basin have to be involved to achieve the required results. Will Ganga ever be cleaned and is there any deadline possible? It may be politically correct to do so but not scientific.
This story was first published in the st October issue of Down To Earth under the headline 'Unholy chase'. We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us.
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The technology selected for the project is the activated sludge process powered by a biogas-based power plant, which will make the plant self-sustainable and reduce the operational cost, besides reducing carbon emissions significantly. The JV will also be responsible to maintain the facility for a period of ten years. Water Technology is using cookies We use them to give you the best experience. Continue Learn More X. Advertise with us.
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