The ESC of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) is comprised of secretaries of the union water ministry, environment ministry, power ministry, urban development ministry and chief secretaries of the five Ganga basin states.
Nearly 10 months after project clearance under the flagship Namami Gange river cleaning programme came to a halt, an empowered steering committee (ESC), headed by the water ministry, will resume appraisal of projects from Friday. According to senior water ministry sources, six projects with a total of worth of more than Rs 500 crore will be taken up in this week's ESC meeting.
The ESC of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) is comprised of secretaries of the union water ministry, environment ministry, power ministry, urban development ministry and chief secretaries of the five Ganga basin states. It it the apex body that clears projects related to cleaning of river Ganga and it last met on May 14, 2015.
Friday's meeting will see the ESC take up projects regarding sewage treatment plants, sanitation, sewerage networks and wildlife conservation along the Ganga. According to sources in the water ministry, three projects of sewage treatment plants and of rehabilitation of old ones for Yamuna river, funded by Japan International Cooperation Agency, a project on providing comprehensive sanitation solution to 78 villages in Sahebganj, Jharkhand and one project related to Allahabad's sewerage network are some of the items listed on the agenda.
The ESC will also look at a proposal to carry out a feasibility report for river front development in Kedarnath. The Water and Power Consultancy Services (WAPCOS), a government agency is likely to be roped in for the report. Besides projects on sewage treatment on river front development, the ESC is also going to take up a crucial project of wildlife and biodiversity conservation to be carried out by Wildlife Institute of India (WII).
Pegged at approximately Rs 8 crore, the WII will look at management of wildlife that is found along the Ganga. The Jim Corbett National Park in Uttarakhand, located along the Ramganga River and conservation of Indo-Gangetic dolphins will be a key part of the project said a water ministry officials.
The ESC meetings had come to a halt after May 2015 as the Union Ministry of Water Resources, River development and Ganga rejuvenation went for a course correction in their plans to clean river Ganga. After carrying out assessment of existing sewage treatment infrastructure in 2015, the Centre found that most were working at sub-optimal levels and thus, a hybrid annuity based public-private partnership model was mooted and approved by the Cabinet.
The Namami Gange project was cleared last year and it is being implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga. The flagship Ganga cleaning project has a budget of Rs 20,000 for a five-year period.
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