Rural litigation and Entitlement Kendra (RlEK) chairperson Avdhash Kaushal has said that a CAG audit and CBI inquiry should be initiated to find how funds were used by the State Ganga River Conservation Authority (SGRCA). He has exhorted the public to ask the Government unanimously to immediately restart all the hydro power projects that have been stalled in the name of ensuring a free flowing and perennial Ganga river.
In a statement released to the media Kaushal said, “With the onset of monsoon, Uttarakhand will face havoc caused by flooding of the rivers. This will happen when as per gazette notification of 2010, there is Uttrakhand State Ganga River Conservation Authority formed. The chairperson of this authority is the Chief Minister but since its formation none of the Chief Ministers from either BJP or Congress did anything but siphoned off crores of rupees in the name of Ganga while the SGRCA is lying defunct. It is high time now for a CAG audit and a CBI inquiry to find out where that money was spent and all the citizens should ask the Government unanimously to immediately restart all the hydel power projects that have been stalled in the name of ensuring a free flowing and perennial Ganga after getting clearances from all the Government departments.”
He further said,“ The National Ganga River Basin Authority created by UPA Government was attended only by sadhus, saints and their likes who themselves are the known polluters of the Ganga- the ashrams situated on both the sides of the river dump their sewers and waste into the river without any kind of treatment,” he added.