Clean Ganga: NMCC approves 5 projects worth Rs 73.39 crore for UP

The National Mission for Clean Ganga has approved five projects worth Rs 73 crore for Uttar Pradesh in its 56th executive committee meeting held in New Delhi, an official statement here said Saturday.

Rajeev Kumar Mital, Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) chaired the meeting.

"The approved projects are pivotal to the improvement of the river's ecosystem as these ensure minimised level of pollution in Ganga, thereby maintaining its cleanliness and ensuring its conservation," the statement said.

The committee approved the project 'Establishment of Secretariat for Smart Laboratory on Clean Rivers (SLCR) at Varanasi' presented and controlled by IIT (BHU) under the supervision of the NMCG it said.

This project intends to deploy global expertise and adopt sustainable practices to rejuvenate and give a facelift to all the small rivers spread across the country. It does this by creating the right balance between the environment, economy and the society as a whole, it said.

Another project on 'Faecal Sludge Management for Abatement of Pollution of River Ganga at Dalmau, Raebareli, Uttar Pradesh' was approved as part of the Namami Gange Mission to reduce the river's pollution, according to the statement.

Under this project, an eight KLD Faecal Sludge Treatment Plant will be established, along with a 15 KW Solar Power Plant and one Solar Inverter.

The sewerage project focusing on cleaning the river Ganga has been officially approved for implementation in Gulaothi, located in the Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh, the statement said.

This project aims to prevent pollution in the East Kali River, a tributary of the river Ganga which flows through eight districts of Uttar Pradesh, it said.

Approved at an estimated cost of Rs 50.98 crore, the project is dedicated to the interception and diversion of drains and sewage treatment works with a capacity of 10 MLD (million litres per day) at Gulaothi Town. This project focuses on the operation and management of the STPs for a stipulated period of 15 years, it added.

Additionally, 'Restoration Plan of Lower Order Streams and Tributaries in the Upper Gomti River Basin through Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)' is another initiative approved by the Executive Committee.

Proposed by the Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Central University, Lucknow, the project lays emphasis on the rejuvenation of lower-order streams and tributaries in the upper Gomti River Basin through NBS.

This project, at a cost of approximately Rs 81.09 lakh, holds immense significance as small rivers and streams are vital to the water flow and ecosystem of larger rivers, it stated.