Tracking the Clean Ganga Project: Promises and Assistance

February 17, 2015

Uma Bharti, the Union Water Resources Minister, has said that the work for cleaning Ganga will be completed in two years. While speaking at Hoshangabad on 15 February, she said that work will be done keeping in mind the issue of quality. Perhaps, she was trying to imply that it will not be a cover up job as most people have come to expect from any government project. According to her, the plan to clean the Ganga was formulated way back in 1985 but till now no step has been taken in this regard. She claimed having formulated the plan for cleaning the river the right way.

Uma Bharti Promises to Clean Ganga in Two Years

Bharti also pointed out that she has been given a free hand in this project by Narendra Modi and is being assisted by all the ministries in what is being regarded as a Herculean task. According to her, the Water Resources Ministry is taking all the necessary steps for conserving the rivers in India and is also making sure that the rivers do not dry up. Rivers in Madhya Pradesh like Ken, Narmada, Betwa, and Kshipra have been linked recently and this model of interlinking of rivers will be followed in case of other rivers as well to prevent them from drying up.

The geographical features of each location, through which Ganga flows, are different and this aspect shall be taken into consideration when cleanup activities are being done. All the plans will be structured according to those considerations. Bharti has also said, and rightly so, that the common people need to come forward and take up some responsibility in this regard by adopting cleaner practices and planting trees near the rivers.

Israel Offers Help in Cleaning Ganga

Israel has lent a helping hand in cleaning up Ganga by offering both technological help and expertise. It is also being assumed that this offer is an attempt by Israel to improve its economic relations with India. Amit Lang, the Director-General of Israel’s Ministry of Economy, made the above mentioned offer during a meeting with Indian officers on 10 February. He was leading a trade delegation that was aiming to continue discussions regarding the Free Trade Agreement that had been started in 2007 by both the countries. Israel is also looking at increasing cooperation in areas such as treatment of wastewater and water management. As Lang had said, the main aim of the visit was to acquaint India with Israel’s technologies.

The FTA between both the countries is yet to be concluded and the Israeli dignitary has said that at present India is facing some challenges on that front. However, he has brushed aside suggestions that Israel may have any concerns with the same considering the open nature of the market. The visiting delegates also presented a proposal in that regard to the Indian side. Sushma Swaraj is supposed to visit Israel in the next couple of months to hold further discussions on the FTA. As far as drip irrigation and desalination are concerned, Israel has achieved some remarkable technological progress. Therefore, it can be expected that it will be able to provide a lot of assistance to India in the Clean Ganga project.

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