Committees to probe spending on Ganga, Yamuna cleanliness drives

Union Minister Uma Bharti on Thursday said the government has formed three vigilance committees to probe the spending on the various cleanliness drives launched for the Ganga and Yamuna rivers over the past 29 years.

She said the Rs.20,000-crore "Namami Gange" project's first phase will be evident by 2016 and the Ken-Betwa river linking project will be a reality by the end of this year.

"...three vigilance committees have been formed by government to probe the overall spending on cleanliness of the rivers Ganga and Yamuna over the last 29 years," said Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation minister Uma Bharti here.

The minister, who was talking to media persons on the completion of one year of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, said that the committees will probe in detail whether the amount released in the last 29 years through various sources was actually spent or not.

Uma alleged that Congress leaders were misleading the people of Maharashtra over the issue of the Damanganga-Pinjal and Par-Tapi-Narmada link projects.

She said Congress leaders were saying that water from Maharashtra is being drained out to Gujarat under political influence, which is not correct.

"I am ready to make a presentation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and leader of her party in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to prove that this is not true and the projects will benefit Maharashtra more," said the minister.

She said the Ganga is connected to the livelihood of around 50 crore people. So it's not fair on the part of opposition leaders to see the "Namami Gange" project as a part of the so-called saffron agenda.