Five more rivers to undergo rejuvenation on lines of Ganga: Official

Addressing a webinar, Jal Shakti Ministry secretary U P Singh said lessons have been learnt while undertaking the Namami Gange Mission and these are being applied to other river basins in the country. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, director general of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, a unit under the Jal Shakti Ministry that looks after the rejuvenation of the Ganga, said a basin-wise study will be done for five rivers --- Periyar, Cauvery, Godavari, Narmada and Mahanadi --- which cover major landmass in the country.

The government is trying to undertake river rejuvenation programmes on the lines of the Ganga mission in other parts of the country, a top official of the Jal Shakti Ministry said on Tuesday. A scientific study on the lines of the Ganga river cleaning project will be done for Periyar, Cauvery, Godavari, Narmada and Mahanadi, another official added. Addressing a webinar, Jal Shakti Ministry secretary U P Singh said lessons have been learnt while undertaking the Namami Gange Mission and these are being applied to other river basins in the country.

Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, director general of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, a unit under the Jal Shakti Ministry that looks after the rejuvenation of the Ganga, said a basin-wise study will be done for five rivers --- Periyar, Cauvery, Godavari, Narmada and Mahanadi --- which cover major landmass in the country. "The National River Conservation Directorate is implementing the programme. We will also be using experience of Ganga for other rivers. They plan to have a basin approach. A very large number of landmass will be covered in the basin approach," Mishra told PTI. After a basin-wise approach to rejuvenate Ganga was undertaken, it was also extended to its tributaries like the Yamuna and sub-tributaries like Kali. The study will try to assess the bio-diversity in these rivers, how many cities and towns are on their banks and their sewerage profile, Mishra added.

He noted that how it will be done is a broad policy-level decision. "My ministry (the Jal Shakti Ministry) is not only concerned about Ganga... Now all the rivers which were earlier part of the Environment and Forest and Climate Change (ministry) have come to us," Singh said. "We are trying to do similar things for all other rivers as far as the country is concerned. Certain lessons have been learnt from Ganga...we are applying to all river basins of the country," he said.

The official also listed out the work undertaken by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) to rejuvenate the river. The mission dealt with two aspects while carrying out the work of river rejuvenation -- one is industrial and sewerage management while the other is ensuring river flow, he said.

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