Nitin Gadkari reviews Namami Gange projects in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal

NEW DELHI: India’s Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday reviewed the projects under Namami Gange programme in Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.nnEven as significant progress is being made in Namami Gange projects in the three States, the Minister instructed contractors to speed up the work and complete projects by December 2018.nnHe also urged the officials of the Central and State governments to resolve all issues that are obstructing the work in any way.nnGadkari said that he himself, along with MoS Dr. Satya Pal Singh will inspect the sites during the coming months and monitor the progress of the projects.nnAgainst a projected sewage generation of 606 MLD for the year 2035, Bihar has 124 MLD of existing sewage treatment capacity. There are 19 ongoing STP projects in the state for 216 MLD. Projects of 201 MLD capacity are under tendering while projects for about 112 MLD capacity will soon be tendered.nnOut of the 19 ongoing STP projects, 11 are in Patna (Beur, Saidpur, Karmalichak, Sadipur, Pahari, Digha, Kankarbagh sewerage zones), and the others are in Buxar, Mokama, Sultanganj, Barh, Hajipur, Begusarai Munger and Bhagalpur. Digha and Kankarbagh projects in Patna and the project in Bhagalpur are under Hybrid Annuity mode.nnIn Patna, while work is under progress to create 200 MLD STP capacity, projects to create additional 150 MLD capacity are under tendering. The capital city generates 286 MLD of sewerage and has an existing treatment capacity of 109 MLD. All 33 drains in the city are also being tapped. Besides, work to create sewer network of 707.5 km is under progress while projects to lay sewer line for another 438 km are under tendering.nnIn Bihar, projects in 15 towns on tributaries of Ganga are also being taken up. The tributaries are Koshi, Burhi Gandak, Gandak, Kiul, Sone, Baghmati, Mahananda. One project in Nauguchia on tributary of Ganga was also reviewed in the meeting.nnThe Minister also reviewed the progress of 20 projects under Patna Riverfront Development which is nearing completion. So far, 16 ghats, 4.8 km promenade and 1 building for audio visual programmes have already been constructed under Patna RFD. The Minister also instructed officials to complete the remaining ghat/crematoria work in Munger, Jamalpur, Sonepur, Hajipur and Buxar by August 2018.nnThe projected sewerage generation for Jharkhand for the year 2035 is 16MLD. The state has no STP capacity at present. There are two ongoing projects in the state ? Sahibganj and Rajmahal – to create 15.5 MLD STP capacity. These were reviewed by the Minister. The likely date of completion of Sahibganj project is December 2018.nnWhile the Minister asked the contractors to strictly adhere to the timelines, he directed the officials to resolve all issues impeding the progress while expressing his dissatisfaction over delay in the Rajmahal project in Jharkhand. It was informed during the meeting that works on 4 ghats and 1 crematorium in Jharkhand has been completed out of total 9 projects.nnThe Union Minister appreciated the proposal of West Bengal officials to build crematoria for animals to prevent the disposal of their dead bodies of animals into the River Ganga and other water bodies. In West Bengal, the ongoing projects to create STP capacity of 80 MLD and under tendering projects for 204 MLD STP capacity were reviewed by the Minister. The work on 15 ghats and 4 crematoria are under progress and officials were instructed to complete it by December 2018.nnDuring the meeting, minute details like issues of land acquisition, No Objection Certificates, Tree Cutting etc. were discussed at length with officials and contractors.nnThe Minister exhorted the officials of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal to take up the issue of sewer house connections on priority. He suggested the officials to speed up this work in coordination with local municipality officials and state governments simultaneously with the ongoing work of STPs and laying of sewer lines.nnMinister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Dr. Satya Pal Singh, Secretary, Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation U.P. Singh and Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) Rajiv Ranjan Mishra were also present during the review.