Centre sanctions 76 projects in five basin states

Aiming to clean up river Ganga, the Centre has so far sanctioned 76 projects worth Rs 4974.79 crore in five basin states, creating an additional treatment capacity of 123 million litres per day, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
Minister of State for Water Resources Sanwar Lal Jat also informed the House that a total of 1649 gram panchayats in five states have become part of an action plan to make the banks along river Ganga free of open defecation.
The latest Union Budget had set up an integrated Ganga conservation mission with an allocation of Rs 2037 crore for Ganga rejuvenation.

"The plan provides for short-term, medium term and long-term action plan, incorporating the projects already sanctioned under the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) programme.
"So far, 76 projects have been sanctioned under NGRBA with government's own resources and with the assistance of the World Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency for Rs 4974.79 crore in five basin states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal and an additional treatment capacity of 123 million litres per day has been created so far," he said in a written reply.
In another written reply, Jat told the upper house that 1649 gram panchayats in the five states have been covered under an action plan to make banks of the river free of open defecation.

He said no separate allocation of funds have been made to states exclusively for the purpose. States have been asked to make their own allocation from funds available under Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan and Swachh Bharat Mission.