1 billion approved to clean Ganges

New Delhi, Jun 2: A credit and loan of 1 billion approx was approved by the World Bank to clear up the polluted Ganges river.

The National Ganga River Basin Authority will be supported by the project. The NGRBA which was established in the year 2009 have made it certain that no untreated industrial or municipal waste would be allowed to gush into the river after 2020.

The National Ganga River Basin Project worth 1.556 billion dollar, with about 1 billion financing done from the World Bank Group, including a 801 million dollar low-interest International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) loan and 199 million dollar interest-free International Development Association (IDA) credit was authorized by the Board of Executive Directors, World Bank on May 31 and will be put into effect for eight years, said a World Bank release on Jun 1.

The project will also establish a Ganga knowledge centre called the state of the art, which will function as a centre to conserve Ganga.

Though the NGRBA will fund the investments into the sewer network and sewage treatment plants that are important to reduce the pollution in the river, the responsibility lies in the hands of municipalities and cities to maintain and manage the river.

The State and Central Pollution Control Boards will also be benefited by the project as there will help them in improving the monitoring pollution in the Ganges by training their staff and updating their information systems.

It will also improve the Ganges water quality system and record the sources of pollution that impacts the water quality in Ganges.

OneIndia News