Minister asks for people's participation in Namami Gange project

Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat has urged the people to participate in making the Namami Gange Project a success. The minister said that it is not the responsibility of just the government but the citizens too to keep the river clean.

New Delhi:Years after launching the Namami Gange project, Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Monday called for people's participation to make the mission a success.

"To make the Ganga clean is not only Government's job...it's the responsibility of the citizens too," said Shekhawat while addressing the Ganga Mahotsav in New Delhi.

He said that youths should be roped in on the mission. "Once youths are connected with the noble mission, it will reach to an extreme hight," said Shekhawat.

It was in July 2014, the centre has launched the Namami Ganga project for cleaning up the Ganga river which is considered to be the sixth most polluted river in the world.

According to the 2018-19 revised estimate of the budget, Namami Gange was allotted Rs 2,300 crore.

Several initiatives were planned such as sewage treatment, cleaning of the river surface and ghats and redevelopment of the riverfront and conservation of biodiversity.

Junior Minister in the Jal Shakti Ministry, Rattan Lal Kataria, however, said that clean Ganga mission has achieved remarkable success.

"In a recent survey, we have found that Ganga is becoming cleaner. We are using Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) to make the water cleaner," said Kataria adding "We believe in the coming days it (Ganga) will be 100 per cent clean."

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