'Ganga Gram' project for villages to be launched tomorrow

The Union government will formally launch the 'Ganga Gram' project tomorrow as part of its clean Ganga mission, named Namami Gange, for holistic sanitation development in villages on the banks of the Ganges.
In August, the Centre declared all 4,470 villages on the banks of the Ganges, located in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, open defecation-free (ODF).
Of these villages, the Centre and the state governments have identified 24 villages to be taken up under a pilot project to transform them into 'Ganga Grams'.
The project will be launched tomorrow at the Ganga Gram Swachata Sammelan here, according to an official statement.

The event will be presided over by Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Uma Bharti. It will be attended by Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari and Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
The villages selected will set the benchmark for cleanliness and integrated efforts of development and will be converted into 'Ganga Grams' by Dec. 31 this year, it added.
The Ganga Gram project is an integrated approach for holistic development of villages situated on the banks of the holy river with active participation of villagers.
The project envisages solid and liquid waste management, renovation of ponds and water resources, water conservation projects, organic farming, horticulture, and promotion of medicinal plants.