New Delhi : The recent report of the Ministry of Water Resources regarding the ‘Namami Gange’ raised questions of its work. ‘Namami Gange’ Project is one of the most favorite Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship programs. This program has been implemented mainly to reduce the pollution and other developmental works of various rivers and river parts of the country including Ganga. The report says that hundreds of works across the country are still awaiting implementation under the Namami Gange project. In particular, the question arises about the progress of various drainage infrastructure projects under Namami Gange.
And in this context, according to government sources, its overall impact may reflect on this year’s budget. That is, in the full budget for the financial year 2024-25 that is going to be presented this month, the amount of money allocated to the ‘Namami Gange’ sector may decrease. However, the Ministry of Water Resources has not officially commented on this. The latest report on the actual status of various projects of ‘Namami Gange’ has been published recently.
It shows that there are 361 total projects related to reducing river pollution under it. Out of that 138 projects are waiting for implementation. Either the work has not started, or the tendering process is just under way or even if the work has started, it is at a very early stage. This pollution reduction project also has five parts. Sewage, Solid Waste Management, Industrial Effluent Systems, Surveillance and Monitoring and Research and Development Projects. The progress rate of those drainage projects is comparatively low. Such an indication has been found in the report of the Ministry of Water Resources.
In total, the central government is working by dividing the projects under ‘Namami Gange’ into five categories. They are Pollution Abatement Project, Ecological Project, Livelihood Project, Public Outreach Project and Knowledge Project. According to the Water Resources Ministry report, the total number of projects in this regard is 465. But work has been completed in 288 cases. That is, a total of 177 cases are still pending. From the report, it is seen that the total approved allocation of these 465 projects is 38 thousand 698 crore 29 lakh rupees. And till May 31, 2024, the amount of expenditure in this case is 18 thousand 742 crores 75 lakhs.
