New Delhi: The Union government will formally launch the ‘Ganga Gram’ project as part of its clean Ganga mission, named Namami Gange, for holistic sanitation development in villages on the banks of river Ganga. In August 2017, the Centre declared all 4,470 villages on the banks of river Ganga, located in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, as open defecation-free (ODF). Of these villages, the Centre and the state governments have identified 24 villages to be taken up under a pilot project to transform them into ‘Ganga Grams’.
Also Read: Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui To Be Face Of A Water Conservation Campaign
The project will be launched at the Ganga Gram Swachata Sammelan in Delhi, according to an official statement. The event will be presided over by Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Uma Bharti. It will be attended by Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari and Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar.
Also Read: Seal Hotels, Industries, Ashrams That Are Polluting Ganga: Uttarakhand High Court
The villages selected will set the benchmark for cleanliness and integrated efforts of development and will be converted into ‘Ganga Grams’ by December 31 this year, it added. The Ganga Gram project is an integrated approach for holistic development of villages situated on the banks of the holy river with active participation of villagers.
The project envisages solid and liquid waste management, renovation of ponds and water resources, water conservation projects, organic farming, horticulture, and promotion of medicinal plants.
