More efforts needed for Clean Ganga: PM Modi

Blaming the previous governments for not being able to rejuvenate the Ganga, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that his government plans to finish the task of cleaning up the holy river.

"I have to take five states along on this mission. Why was the money spent on the river since Rajiv Gandhi's time not been fruitful? We analysed. The deficits were filled and we planned on finishing this task. For example, a drain which was there for 120 years, has just been closed which polluted the river," Prime Minister Modi told ANI in an interview, which was released on Tuesday.

The statement comes three days after the Prime Minister said, "When the government works with transparency, honesty and public partnership, then the results are definitely meaningful," while inaugurating 'One District, One Product' summit in Varanasi, his parliamentary constituency.

"Otherwise, you all have been witness to a number of schemes from Ganga Action Plan to Ganga Basin Authority being made," he had added.

Under the National Mission for Clean Ganga, nearly Rs 26,000 crore is being spent on cleaning the highly polluted holy river. In October last year, Union Water Resources Minister Nitin Gadkari set March 2019 as the deadline to clean 70 to 80 per cent of the Ganga.

Prime Minister Modi said that the task needs more efforts and action at various levels.

"A challenging task would be to cleanse tributaries as well that drain into the Ganga. An international report claimed that there has been an improvement in the Ganga. I am not content with this. We are still working hard on it. We will be successful," Prime Minister Modi told ANI.