A new ghat will be constructed at Chandighat in Haridwar while a consortium of engineers from central PSUs will be formed for strengthening the embankments of Mandakini and Saraswati rivers and construction of ghats at Kedarnath. These and other proposals submitted by the Government of Uttarakhand were approved by the Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Uma Bharti.
According to official sources, construction of the new ghat at Chandighat will be managed by central PSUs and work will start next month. The consortium of engineers from central PSUs will prepare the DPR in consultations with experts from Nehru Institute of Mountaineering. The sewage treatment plants at Muni ki Reti and Jagjeetpura in Rishikesh will be set up by central PSUs with work likely to start by February next year. Regarding the assistance sought by the State Government for Ardh Kumbh to be held next year, it has been decided that wherever possible the same will accorded under the Namami Gange programme.
It is pertinent to mention here that a meeting was held between the secretary of the ministry Shashi Shekhar and the chief secretary of Uttarakhand, Rakesh Sharma earlier on October 23 to discuss these issues. Subsequently, Bharti had a meeting with the Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat on October 25 in Dehradun where it had been decided that the ministry would soon take a decision on these issues.