7 IITs pool brains to clean Ganga

Dhande told The Indian Express: “The Ganga Action Plan was launched in 1985,but the project failed to bring down the river’s pollution level. Hence the Environment ministry decided to give the IITs a chance.”

On March 13,Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh had met the representatives of the IITs at IIT-Mumbai. During the meeting,he asked them to prepare a detailed work plan for NGRBA,The initial project report prepared by the IITs was forwarded to the ministry last month. On June 7,the ministry approved it and asked the IITs to submit a detailed project report within 18 months.

Explaining the difference between GAP and NGRBA,Dhande said: “While the former concentrated on treatment of water at sites of extreme pollution,the latter aims to take care of pollution as well as the development of the river surroundings.”

Before framing the work plan,the IIT-K has decided to hold a string of workshops and invite experts from different countries to collect their views. “We will also study the methods followed by different countries to preserve their national rivers,” he said.

The IIT-K Director said the report would include short-term and long-term plans for perpetual development of the Ganga basin.

“Our plan will include development of a green cover on both sides of the river,ensuring a proper flow rate and depth of the river and methods to keep the river free from pollution,” he said.

The plan will aim to bring down the pollution considerably in the next 10 years.

After declaring the Ganga a national river,the Centre’s first initiative was to form the NGRBA.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh heads the body which includes the Chief Ministers of Uttaranchal,Uttar Pra-desh,Bihar,Jharkhand and West Bengal.

The IITs,Dhande said,were not the implementing agency for the project. “We will prepare the work policy for NGRBA,and it will be executed by various government and private organisations,” he said.