Mission Clean Ganga: A ceaseless approach towards purity remains questionable

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• Dec 14, 2021 | moderator

Mission Clean Ganga seems like a never-ending project.

Guwahati: River Ganga has remained a crucial part of the Indian people and their principles. Yet, years of impurity floating the river now appear to be ceaseless. Missions and projects designed to clean the river have now turned out to be fake promises from the microphones of political leaders and campaigns ahead of polls. 

The ruling government initiated a major Ganga Clean-up Mission in 2015. The amount sanctioned for the project was 20,000 cr. However, years have passed, and a few projects have been completed. According to official data, out of 310 projects, only 116 or 37% of the projects under the mission have been completed until 2019. Gajendra Shekhawat, Jal Shakti Minister, earlier stated that the intended expenditure for the Ganga clean-up mission, accounting for future expenditures, is well over ₹20,000 crore. Altogether, 346 projects were carried out at a sanctioned cost of ₹30,235 crores, out of which 158 were completed by 2021.

Even though Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been along the sides of the river Ganga these days, he has hardly mentioned anything regarding the mission in his speeches. He is busy inaugurating the first phase of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor at the holy city Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. PM Modi also offered prayer at Kaal Bhairav temple and took a holy dip in Ganga. 

Now, what does this signify to the people of the nation? During the Chhath puja celebrations, devotees were seen taking a dip and offering prayers in the impure and harmful water of the river Ganga. From a religious perspective, these offerings and holding a belief reflect the cultural and religious ethics of the people. However, health and well-being have turned out to be a major concern. Cleaning Ganga is not merely cleansing the river; it has added values connected with it. 

Also Read: PM Modi Inaugurates the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, Will Witness Evening Aarti at Ganga Ghat

It's been more than five years that the mission to clean up the Ganga river continues. Reports have only highlighted the drawbacks and extremeness of the river pollution in the river. A trust governed by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley was set up to look into the work of the Clean Ganga Fund (CGF). The committee's task is to approve projects for cleaning the Ganga under the CGF. However, RTI reports have revealed that there has been no board of trustees' discussions for years. Due to this, there has been a delay in approving projects, and the fund is not being disbursed.

Reports have also stated that only 18% of the money gathered under the Clean Ganga Fund (CGF) launched by the Narendra Modi government has been spent so far. The CAG report stated that it was necessary to disburse the CGF money to take the Ganga cleaning mission forward. Even though the funds are not spent on cleaning projects, data stated that these funds might have been spent on advertisements. Lakhs of rupees were released for advertising, even the most minor assignments related to Ganga cleaning. Advertisements are important for awareness; however, in the case of such crucial projects, it is more important for the government to spend on project outcomes and not to highlight their work through print and digital media.

Official data stated that around 113 real-time bio-monitoring strategies have still not been installed so far. There is no national policy on drainage (without which the real hit of the STP approach is questionable). These limitations only indicate that the government is not serious concerning the cleaning and revival of the Ganga.