Over 30 institutes in race for Ganga master plan bid

Over 30 scientific institutions of international repute are in the race to formulate a master plan for the water quality management of Ganga river basin which feeds about 40 per cent of country's population.

"A few months ago we had floated a global tender for the task. We have received proposal from at least 30 prestigious international and national organisations such as NEERI, Pune, IIT Delhi and IIT Kanpur," Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said.

One of the institutes will be selected for the job to prepare a master plan for one of the largest basins in the country on October 5 during the first meeting of the newly constituted Ganga River Basin Authority to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"The identified institute will have to prepare the master plan within the next two months. The proposed plan would lay out detailed programme of action for cleaning up the river which has been polluted due to population pressure and human activity," Ramesh explained.

During the meeting, the government will also discuss ways to rope in international financial institutions to fund cleaning of the river as is being done for the Yamuna by a Japanese organisation under the Yamuna Action Plan in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Haryana.