Network of 8 ministries involved in Ganga clean-up

Eight ministries have been roped together to clean up the Ganga, reports The Indian Express. The Human Resource Development Ministry, the Water Resource Ministry, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry, the Ministry of Shipping, the Rural Development Ministry, the Tourism Ministry and AYUSH have all been given roles in the Namami Gange programme.

The HRD ministry will set up an institution or university that will provide courses on applied river sciences to create expertise in the field of river cleaning and rejuvenation, and also spread awareness about the need to keep rivers clean.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is to prioritise schemes to establish toilets in villages along the river banks so as to stop open defecation, and also set up solid and liquid waste management facilities in these villages.

Simultaneously, the Tourism Ministry is to promote green tourism, and the Ministry of Shipping will develop sustainable shipping and river transport facilities.

At the same time, the Rural Development Ministry will work towards implementing the Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas programme in riverside villages, and use the NREGA programme to help the Namami Gange scheme, while AYUSH will ensure medicinal biodiversity in the region and the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry will encourage people to volunteer for the river cleaning programme.

The Water Resources Ministry, which is in charge of the Namami Gange programme, is signing MoUs with these ministries to accomplish these objectives.