Action soon against industrial units polluting Ganga: Govt

Government has asked the pollution control boards to initiate action against industrial units discharging contaminated effluents in river Ganga, Union Minister Uma Bharti informed Lok Sabha on Thursday. She said the government has asked the pollution control boards to initiate action against such industrial units, in a bid to stop untreated water from flowing into the Ganga.

During the Question Hour, the Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister said her Ministry would soon finalise a plan in this regard and send it to the Cabinet for approval. The government has launched the ambitious ‘Namami Ganga’ programme to rejuvenate the river which was fully funded by the Centre. “We are committed to clean Ganga,” Bharti said while adding that the people’s representatives and the society as a whole needed to work together in this direction, ” Bharti said.

Apart from rejuvenation of Ganga, the programme also covers all the tributaries of the river. “Yamuna Action Plan, Gomti Action Plan, Damodar Action Plan are already under operation and work on Ramganga and Kali is under implementation,” Bharti said.

Under the programme, an amount of Rs 528 crore has been earmarked for public participation, including towards raising of Ganga Task Force, for a five-year period (2015-2020). Till end of June, Rs 91.75 lakh has been spent.