Hope there will be continuous flow in Ganga by May next yr: Gadkari

Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari Friday said he hoped that there will be a "continuous flow" in the Ganga river by May next year.

In October this year, the Centre came out with a notification to have minimum environmental flow for the Ganga at various locations on the river.

"They (officials) say one metre, but I say even if there is one feet of water with continuous then that will be a great achievement. By May next, we can expect the continuous flow (of Ganga)," Gadkari said responding to a question at an event.

He also presided over the ceremony of signing of concession agreement for sewage treatment infrastructure in Kanpur under one-city-one-operator concept and Hybrid Annuity Mode between the National Mission for Clean Ganga, Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam and the private concessionaire -consortium of Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Ltd and SSG Infratech Limited. The cost of the project is worth Rs 816 crore.

The Kanpur projects, for which the agreement was signed, include the development of three new sewage treatment plants (STPs) at Unnao - 1.3 crore litres per day, Shuklaganj - 0.5 crore litres per day and Pankha - 3 crore litres per day, rehabilitation of the existing sewage treatment infrastructure with capacity of 45.7 crore litres per day, and operation and maintenance of all assets for 15 years under Hybrid Annuity based purchasing power parity mode.

Kanpur has a current sewage generation of about 37.5 crores litres per day and this is expected to increase to 46 crores litres per day in 2035 as per the population growth.

The existing treatment capacity from six STPs is 45.7 crore litres per day. Unnao, Shulaganj and Bithoor generate about 18.3 crores litres per day of sewage.

In another step taken to address the challenge of industrial pollution in Kanpur, a 20 MLD common effluent treatment plant (CETP) at the Jajmau project at an estimated cost of Rs 554 crore (Phase-I), is under tendering.

The work would start soon for treatment of sewage generated by the tannery industrial cluster which exists in Jajmau (380 units), a statement said.

Underlining the importance of cleaning the tributaries of Ganga, Gadkari said 11 projects are being taken up in the national capital for the Yamuna. Besides, projects are being taken up on other tributaries of the Ganga as well under the Namami Gange programme.