The foundation stone have been laid for 32 projects costing about Rs 905 crore in Uttarakhand on Tuesday under Namami Gange programme in the august presence of Dr. Satyapal Singh, Minister of State, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation and Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand. Major General Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, Shri Prakash Pant, Drinking Water minister, Uttarakhand, Shri Satpal Maharaj, Irrigation minister, Uttarakhand, Shri Ramesh Pokhrial, MP, Haridwar, Shri Madan Kaushik and MLAs Shri Surendra Singh Negi, Shri Adesh Chauhan and Shri Mahendra Bhatt also graced the occasion. Two sewerage treatment projects – sewerage scheme and STP in Gangotri Dham and 0.26 MLD STP at Badrinath – costing Rs 12.83 were inaugurated (commissioned) at the event.
Speaking on the occasion Dr. Satyapal Singh said: “We have to make clean Ganga mission a people’s movement. The mindset of people also needs to be changed and they should be told to refrain from polluting the river in any way.” He also talked about the importance of public participation in Namami Gange programme. “We recently had two successful road shows in London and Mumbai during which corporates have shown keen interest in participating in the clean Ganga mission.”
Shri Trivendra Singh Rawat said: “Everyone has to be a Bhagirath now. That is the only solution. Each and every member of the society will have to participate. Government efforts alone would not be enough. If everyone joins hands the dream of Aviral and Nirmal Ganga will certainly come true.”
Out of 32 projects for which foundation stone was laid, 20 projects worth Rs 871.74 crore pertain to sewage treatment and infrastructure in different parts of Uttarakhand. Six are in Haridwar that includes construction of STPs in Jagjeetpur and Sarai under PPP based Hybrid Annuity model. The total cost of projects in Haridwar is Rs 414.20 crore.
Importantly, once all these projects are complete, sewage water of all priority towns in Uttarakhand including Haridwar and Rishikesh will not go into Ganga untreated. Apart from this, foundation stone have been laid for projects related to sewage treatment in Uttarkashi, Muni-ki-Reti, Kirti Nagar, Srinagar, Rudra Prayag, Badrinath, Joshimath, Chamoli, Nand Prayag and Karn Prayag. Foundation stone for ghat development works in Tehri Garhwal, Rudra Prayag and Chamoli were also laid.
The projects include I & D work in Jagjeetpur for Rs 85.14 crore, sewage treatment work in Jagjeetpur for Rs 244.91 crore, I & D work in Sarai for Rs 31.46 crore, sewage treatment work in Sarai for Rs 52.64 crore, 3.5 MLD STP at Tapovan for Rs 2.1 crore, 3 MLD STP at Swarga Ashram for Rs 4.5 crore, I & D and 26 MLD STP work in Rishikesh for Rs 158 crore, I & D and STP work in Muni Ki Reti for Rs 80.45 crore, 2 MLD STP work in Uttarkashi for Rs 10.03 crore, I & D and STP work in Kirti Nagar for Rs 4.2 crore, I & D and STP work in Srinagar for Rs 22.5 crore, 3.5 MLD STP rehabilitation work in Srinagar for Rs 15.4 crore, I & D and STP work in Rudra Prayag for Rs 13.1 crore, I & D and STP work in Badrinath for Rs 18.23 crore, I & D and STP work in Joshimath for Rs 48.42 crore, I & D and STP work in Chamoli for Rs 61.8 crore, I & D and STP work in Nand Prayag for Rs 6.4 crore, I & D and STP work in Karn Prayag for Rs 12.09 crore, ghat work in Tehri Garhwal for Rs 6 crore, ghat work in Chamoli for about Rs 24 crore and ghat work in Rudra Prayag for Rs 4.77 crore.