Don’t release funds to clean Ganga without our nod: NGT to Centre

Irked over the lackadaisical approach of UP and Uttarakhand officials in enumerating reasons for pollution in Ganga, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday directed the Centre not to release funds for cleaning the river from Gomukh to Kanpur without its permission.

A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar asked the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation through National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) not to grant funds to UP and Uttarakhand governments.

The Ministry had constituted the authority for Ganga rejuvenation. While NGRBA is the apex body looking after the cleaning of Ganga, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is the implementing agency for the project termed as ‘Namami Gange’.

NGRBA’s jurisdiction extends to the states through which the Ganga flows – Uttarakhand, UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and some other states.

The green panel passed the direction after the officials from the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand failed to satisfy the bench about different points of pollution in the river in both the states.

During the proceedings, advocate MC Mehta, who has sought cleaning of Ganga, said there was discharge of sewage, trade effluents and other pollutants due to rapid urbanisation and industrialisation in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.