National Clean Ganga Mission approves sewerage projects worth Rs 2,700 cr

The Executive Committee of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) approved projects worth around Rs 2,700 cr for developing sewerage infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal

The Executive Committee of National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) approved projects worth around Rs 2,700 crore for developing sewerage infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

The 46th meeting of the Executive Committee of the NMCG was organised under the chairmanship of NMCG director general G Asok Kumar recently. Of the approved projects, 12 pertain to the development of sewerage infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, worth more than Rs 2,700 crore.

Afforestation programmes for 2022-'23 for Uttarakhand and Bihar were also approved at an estimated cost of Rs 42.80 crore. These programmes aim to create an enabling environment for a climate-resilient and sustainable ecosystem management with a community participatory approach, said the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

In West Bengal, a big project for the Rejuvenation of River Adi Ganga, a tributary of Ganga, in Kolkata was approved at an estimated cost of Rs 653.67 crore. It includes the construction of three Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) of 10 Million Litres per Day (MLD), 11.60 MLD and 3.5 MLD capacities.

According to the Jal Shakti Ministry, a total of three projects were approved in Uttar Pradesh one of which pertains to the development of sewerage infrastructure in Prayagraj at a cost of Rs 475.19 crore. The Prayagraj project envisages the construction of a 90 MLD STP along with 20 KLD Faecal Sludge co-treatment facility and effluent station of 90 MLD, interception and diversion works, among others.

Two other projects approved in Uttar Pradesh include the construction of a 50 MLD STP, incision and drainage and other works at an estimated cost of Rs. 264.67 crore at Loniapurva, Lucknow for River Gomti and 24 MLD STP, incision and drainage and other works at Hathras town for Rivers Sengar and Karwan at a cost of Rs 128.91 crore.

In Bihar, the ministry said one project each for Daudnagar and Motihari towns has been approved at estimated costs of Rs 42.25 and Rs 149.15 crore respectively. For Daudnagar, construction of a 10.50 MLD STP along with incision and drainage works and for Motihari, four STPs of 4.6, 6.3, 5.8, 6.3 MLD capacities and incision and drainage works have been proposed. In Bihar, four projects of cost enhancement were also approved.

A major project in Jharkhand was approved in the 46th EC meeting. The project includes the construction of five STPs of total 192 MLD capacity (18+21+75+60+18), interception and diversion and other works at an estimated cost of Rs 808.33 crore in Dhanbad town.

The Jal Shakti Ministry said this project is for pollution abatement in River Damodar, an important tributary of River Ganga and aims to tap all the drains falling into Damodar from the town, which indirectly pollutes the Ganga. With the approval of this project, all projects required for the abatement of pollution in River Damodar in Jharkhand have been approved.

Another project titled 'Scientific exploration of floral diversity near the Ganga river banks for ethnobotanical purposes along with their conservation and economic development of the region via skill development programs' was approved in the Executive Committee meeting for all five states.

The project will be implemented in collaboration with Patanjali Research Institute (PRI) and Patanjali Organic Research Institute (PORI), Haridwar, Uttarakhand.

The project has three components -- Plant Biodiversity Exploration: Floral diversity, ethnobotanical, medicinal aspect and their phytochemical profiling for commercial valuation, Training and Skill Development: Stakeholders like farmers, traditional healing practitioners etc and Advanced Scientific Research and Experimentation: soil and water quality; their impact on floral phytochemical; soil microbe interaction and its effect, medicinal plant varieties & exploration of medicinal properties etc.