Government of India has warned the industries discharging water in the Ganga of stringent action against them. Replying to supplementary in the Rajya Sabha today, Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti said, as many as 764 units are carrying out industrial activities in the vicinity of the river and they have been asked to adopt zero liquid discharge norm.
She said the action has been taken against some of them for polluting the river. The Minister reiterated government’s commitment to clean the Ganga during its tenure and added 20 thousand crore rupees have been allocated for the project.
The Minister said the government has decided to implement waste management in the cities along the river to prevent city drains from discharging into the Ganga. She also informed the House that the ongoing Namami Gange programme is fully funded by the government and it has not received any foreign funds.
However, earlier the Ganga cleaning scheme had received assistance from World Bank and Japan International Co-operation Agency. Several countries have also offered technical assistance.