Rs 497 crore cleared for Ganga clean-up project at Varanasi -Governance Now

Rs 497 crore cleared for Ganga clean-up project at Varanasi

Union will provide 85% and UP government will bear 15% of project cost

GN Bureau | June 10, 2010

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved a Rs 497 crore project under Mission Clean Ganga of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) for Varanasi. The project will set up a sewage treatment plant of 140 million liters per day capacity, lay 34 kms of sewers, rehabilitate existing sewerage systems, construct 3 new pumping stations, build community toilet complexes, renovate 26 selected ghats, develop 7 dhobi ghats and build capacity for public participation and awareness.

The central government will provide Rs 428 crore (85%) and the government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) will provide Rs 69 crore (15%) of the project cost. The project will be executed by the UP Jal Nigam and the Varanasi Nagar Nigam over a five year period with the environment ministry monitoring implementation through a tripartite Memorandum of Agreement between the ministry itself, the state government and the urban local body. The Indian government has taken a soft loan of about Rs 550 crore from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the project repayable over 40 years at 0.75% interest rate with an initial grace period of 10 years.

Jairam Ramesh, minister of state for environment and forests said that the project is significant since it is the first in a series that will be based on requirements of population in 2025-2030. Normally, such projects are planned keeping existing demand in mind but the NGRBA is looking at future population and formulating sewerage treatment facilities.

The NGRBA is also supporting alternative technology in Varanasi through a local NGO the Sankat Mochan Foundation. Two technologies---advanced integrated wastewater pond system and micro-tunneling for the ghat area—are being experimented with.

Earlier the CCEA had cleared a similar Rs 305 crore project for Allahabad. The NGRBA has so far approved 3 projects amounting to Rs 240 crore in Bihar, Rs 105 crore in West Bengal and Rs 65 crore in Uttarakhand.

Comments

Other News

75 visitors from abroad watch world’s largest elections unfold

As a beacon of electoral integrity and transparency, the Election Commission of India (ECI) exemplifies its commitment to conduct general elections of the highest standards, offering a golden bridge for global Election Management Bodies (EMBs) to witness democratic excellence first-hand. It continues foste

‘Oral cancer deaths in India cause productivity loss of 0.18% GDP’

A first-of-its-kind study on the economic loss due to premature death from oral cancer in India by the Tata Memorial Centre has found that this form of cancer has a premature mortality rate of 75.6% (34 premature events / 45 total events) resulting in productivity loss of approximately $5.6 billion in 2022

Days of Reading: Upendra Baxi recalls works that shaped his youth

Of Law and Life Upendra Baxi in Conversation with Arvind Narrain, Lawrence Liang, Sitharamam Kakarala, and Sruti Chaganti Orient BlackSwan, Rs 2,310

Voting by tribal communities blossoms as ECI’s efforts bear fruit

The efforts made by the Election Commission of India (ECI), over last two years, for inclusion of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) communities and other tribal groups in the electoral process have borne fruit with scenes of tribal groups in various states/UTs participating enthusiastically in t

GST revenue for April 2024 at a new high

The gross Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections hit a record high in April 2024 at ₹2.10 lakh crore. This represents a significant 12.4% year-on-year growth, driven by a strong increase in domestic transactions (up 13.4%) and imports (up 8.3%). After accounting for refunds, the net GST