New Delhi: The executive committee of the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in a recent meeting approved 12 projects for the development of sewer infrastructure in various cities along the banks of the Ganga, including Kolkata and Prayagraj, with a total investment of ₹2,700 crore.
According to a release issued by the Union ministry of water resources on Monday, in the 46th meeting of the committee under the chairmanship of director general, NMCG, G Ashok Kumar, on 23 December 2022, sewage treatment infrastructure projects worth more than ₹2,700 cr have been approved for states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
According to the ministry, among the major projects approved, three projects were approved for Uttar Pradesh, one of which pertains to the development of sewerage infrastructure in Prayagraj, costing ₹475.19 crore.
In Bihar, two separate projects worth ₹42.25 and ₹149.15 crore have been approved for Daudnagar and Motihari towns, respectively. The estimated cost of the mega project of rejuvenation of Adi Ganga river at Kolkata in West Bengal is ₹653.67 crore.
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In the meeting, afforestation programs worth ₹42.80 crore were approved for Uttarakhand and Bihar in the year 2022-23. The objective of Vanikaran is to create an enabling environment for climate resilient and sustainable ecosystem management with a community participatory approach.
In West Bengal, a big project for rejuvenation of river Adi Ganga, tributary of Ganga, in Kolkata was approved that includes construction of three sewage treatment plants (STPs) of 10 Million Litres per Day (MLD), 11.60 MLD and 3.5 MLD capacities.
In Uttar Pradesh, total three projects were approved, out which one project pertains to development of sewerage infrastructure in Prayagraj, which envisages construction of 90 MLD STP along with 20 KLD faecal sludge co-treatment facility and effluent station of 90 MLD, interception and diversion (I&D) works etc. Two other projects approved in Uttar Pradesh includes construction of a 50 MLD STP, I&D works etc. at an estimated cost of ₹264.67 crore at Loniapurva, Lucknow, for river Gomti and 24 MLD STP, I&D works etc. at Hathras town for rivers Sengar and Karwancosting ₹128.91 crore.
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The meeting proposed construction of an STP with capacity to treat 10.50 MLD sewage at Daudnagar and four STPs at Motihari towns with 4.6, 6.3, 5.8, 6.3 MLD capacities and I&D works.
The committee also proposed construction of five STPs in Jharkhand with total capacity of 192MLD with I&D facilities at an estimated cost of ₹808.33 crore in Dhanbad town. This project is for pollution abatement in river Damodar, an important tributary of river Ganga and aims to tap all the drains falling into Damodar from the town, which indirectly pollutes river Ganga. With the approval of this project, all projects required for abatement of pollution in river Damodar in Jharkhand have been approved.
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Another project titled ‘Scientific exploration of floral diversity near the Ganga river banks for ethnobotanical purposes along with their conservation and economic development of the region via skill development programs’ was approved in the EC for all the five states. The project will be implemented in collaboration with Patanjali Research Institute (PRI) & Patanjali Organic Research Institute (PORI), Haridwar, Uttarakhand.
The projects has three components including plant biodiversity exploration: Floral diversity, ethnobotanical, medicinal aspect and their phytochemical profiling for commercial valuation, Training and Skill Development: Stakeholders like farmers, traditional healing practitioners etc., and Advanced Scientific Research & Experimentation: soil & water quality; their impact on floral phytochemical; soil microbe interaction & its effect, medicinal plant varieties &exploration of medicinal properties etc.
