February 3, 2022
Mausam Noor makes Special Mention on the need to disburse Bengal’s dues for rejuvenation of the Ganga
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), three projects worth Rs 1300 crore for the Hoogly river in West Bengal had received administrative approval in September from the Union Government. However, no funds have been disbursed for the same and in this case, it is the Union Government which is supposed to bear 100% of the cost. Plans for a sewage treatment plant for Talli drainage, Asansol Durgapur sewage treatment plant for Damodar and Barakar rivers, and sludge treatment plant for Bardhaman and Baka rivers are yet to receive the allocated fund amounts of approximately Rs 400 crore, Rs 672.49 crore and Rs 234 crore, respectively. The most important of these is the sewage treatment plant project for Talli drainage as this canal carries 968 million litres of waste water from Kolkata and its surrounding areas. Therefore, three sewage treatment plants with a capacity of 26.1 million litres per day have been proposed to be built near the Talli drainage.
If funds aren’t disbursed on an urgent basis for these projects, the Ganga pollution issue will only worsen further. Under such circumstances, the Bengal government is undertaking expenditures out of the State treasury fund to regularly clean solid wastes from these drainage systems. The most polluted 4.8 km area is being dredged at a cost of around Rs 1.3 crore. The remaining dredging of the Ganga till Chetla that is being undertaken will cost another Rs 11.17 crore. I urge the government to address this issue urgently.
