Stepping up efforts to check pollution in River Ganga, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti and Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu met on Wednesday to discuss the issues related to release of untreated sewage from more than 100 cities in five States into the river.
According to sources, both the Ministries decided to call joint meetings of the concerned bureaucrats from the five States, including Principal Secretaries and Commissioners besides the elected chiefs of 118 urban local bodies to chalk out an action plan that can be implemented in close cooperation with each other.
Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal have identified 118 towns having 1,649 gram panchayats to achieve their target of cleaning the Ganga.The two Ministers felt the need for pro-active cooperation from the respective State Governments in formulation and execution of schemes to check pollution of the river said the sources
The meeting mentioned of sensitising the concerned stakeholders on the measures to be taken for cleaning the Ganga. The Environment Ministry has issued notice to 700 polluting industrial units by the banks of the river to install sensors on the affluent discharge points by March next year. It is for the respective State agencies to follow up the measures with the Centre and ensure its implementation.