PM asks officials to ensure greater public participation in Ganga cleaning

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the officials to ensure greater participation of public in the NDA Government ambitious cleaning of river Ganga project.  

The PM, who reviewed the progress of Namami Gange programme on Thursday evening here, said that the project should not be remain as government programme. The greater involvement of the public in cleaning task would help to success of the project, the PM reportedly said in the meeting.   

Asking the officials to create more public awareness and participation in the task, the PM instructed them to ensure timely completion of the project, said an official in the Water Resources Ministry said.

Modi's instructions came amid complaints of poor implementation of the project. The review meeting assumed significance as it was the first since the BJP came to power in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the river's two key basin states whose previous governments were accused by the Centre of not cooperating fully.

The official, who attended the meeting, claimed that the PM was satisfied with the planning of the project and the officials gave a commitment to expedite the work.

Official also said that the project could not be implemented at the desired pace due to "non-cooperation" by the previous governments in Uttar Pradesh, where Ganga's longest stretch falls, and Uttarakhand, from where the river originates.

Uttar Pradesh was earlier ruled by the Samajwadi Party while Uttarakhand had Congress government before the BJP came to power in the two states in March this year. Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal are the other basin states of the 2525-km-long river.

"We can now expedite the work given that the two states-Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have friendly governments. There is a BJP government in Jharkhand too. Bihar has so far cooperated," the official added.