Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) today launched ‘Ganga Gram’ – a project for sanitation based integrated development of all 4470 villages along the River Ganga, at a multi-stakeholder sammelan held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi yesterday.
The Ganga Gram Swachhta Sammelan was attended by more than 1400 delegates including 500 village sarpanches from all five Ganga States (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal), State and District government officials, NMCG Members and Ganga Swachhta Manch volunteers.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Water Resources, Ganga Rejuvenation and River Development appealed to the village sarpanches to pledge unconditional support to making River Ganga and Ganga Grams ‘swachh’. Highlighting the various Government interventions towards making the Ganga ‘Nirmal’ Shri Gadkari, announced that funds will be generated from NRIs to support the various Ganga projects.
Speaking on the occasion, Sushri Uma Bharti, Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation advised to let development take place only if adequate care and precaution is taken in the project to protect the environment of the Ganga. Highlighting the commitment of the Government towards the Ganga, she informed that Evaluation and Monitoring Systems and Process feature prominently in all Ganga rejuvenation projects. She highlighted that the Ganga Gram project depends upon the commitment and resolve of the people living on its banks.
Introducing the Ganga Gram Project, Shri Parmeswaran Iyer, Secretary MDWS underlined that Ganga Gram vision is an integrated approach for holistic development of villages situated on the banks of River Ganga with active participation of the villagers. After achieving ODF target in Ganga Villages, implementation of solid and liquid waste management and other integrated activities are remaining tasks.
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation is the nodal agency for implementation of the Ganga Gram Project. Since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission in October 2014, the Ministry has constructed 5.72 crore toilets and has made 2.96 lakh villages, 262 districts, 6 States and 2 Union Territories, open defecation free. For the Ganga Gram Project the Ministry works in close coordination with NMCG, various Ministries, State Government and Distrcts.
Shri U.P Singh Secretary, Water Resources, Ganga Rejuvenation and River Development appealed everyone to join the project to ensure that the water of the Holy River Ganga flow in a pristine and an uninterrupted manner.
The Sammelan was also attended by senior ministers from Uttarakhand, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur and Jharkhand.
On the eve of the Ganga Gram Swachhata Sammelan, Sushri Uma Bharti held a Ganga Sanvad to receive the feedback from all Sarpanches on Ganga bank Sanitation and development.
The Sammelan was followed by a review meeting on Swachh Bharat Mission- Gramin and Drinking Water. The review meeting was presided by the Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, in which Sanitation ministers from various states including Uttarakhand, Bihar, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Haryana, Assam and senior officers of the ministry and states were also present.
