The water and Ganga ministry signed MoUs on inland waterways, organic farming along Ganga and on the adoption of villages situated on the banks of Ganga by IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology).
Having identified that sewage of 118 urban local bodies and major industrial clusters as the chief sources of Ganga pollution, the Union ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation (MoWR) has now made a push for focusing on treating raw sewage and solid waste that flows from nearly 1,600 villages into the holy river. At a large gathering here on Saturday for the Ganga Gram initiative, where more than 1,000 panchayat heads were present, Uma Bharti, water resources and Ganga rejuvenation minister helmed the signing of memorandums of understanding (MoUs) along with ministerial colleagues Nitin Gadkari, Smriti Irani and Chaudhary Birender Singh on a host of initiatives.
The water and Ganga ministry signed MoUs on inland waterways, organic farming along Ganga and on the adoption of villages situated on the banks of Ganga by IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology). Under the collaboration between the ministry of human resources and development and the Ganga ministry, IITs will adopt five villages each along the holy river and implement projects to treat sewage and solid waste flowing into Ganga.
"In the coming months, we will build thousands of toilets across villages along with rural development ministry and establish crematoriums. We will respect the faith of people while cleaning Ganga," said Uma Bharti while speaking to the large gathering of panchayat heads. Bharti added that it was amply clear that urbanisation and industries were the chief sources of Ganga pollution and not villages. According to Shashi Shekhar, secretary, MoWR, villages contributed 6-7 per cent to pollution in Ganga.
She also informed panchayat heads that village works along the Ganga will now be included under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and workers will receive money through Direct Benefit Transfer.
Interestingly, the Ganga Gram event had in attendance several panchayat heads from poll-bound West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh that will go to polls in 2017. Several of the panchayat heads present at the event said that they were not briefed in detail about Saturday's event. "We were only informed that there will be an event on Ganga cleaning and that panchayat heads were invited. There was no meeting held before the event to make us understand what we will gain," said Sanjay Singh, 42, sarpanch of Samaspur village from Mirzapur district.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Harish-Nitin-Uma")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}