The state government has prepared a plan to manage the waste produced by 26 cities located on the banks of Ganga.

“The aim is to check the domestic and industrial effluent which is being dumped into the river,” said Principal Secretary of Urban Development Alok Ranjan.

The government has held informal discussions with the Centre for funds.

Since the sum involved for 26 cities will be huge, the Centre had asked the state to identify spots that need urgent attention. In response, the state government had listed Kanpur, Farrukhabad, Allahabad, Varanasi, Mathu-ra and Agra — the last two having tributaries of Ganga.

The final project document is expected to be ready next month, after which the state government also plans to seek funding from external agencies like Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) or Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the latter is already working in cooperation with UP Jal Nigam. Besides, efforts will be made to invite private players for the job.

Waste management is an integral part of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission as well. But that project is limited to a few cities selected on basis of their population and the project has provision to deal with domestic waste only.

“The scheme we are working on focuses on domestic and industrial waste,” said an official from Jal Nigam, the UP government body that is preparing the plan.

The plan proposes to check any kind of waste being released into Ganga. In the process, relocation of industries is also possible. “For example, we are contemplating shifting the tanneries from Jajmau in Kanpur to another place like Unnao Industrial Area,” said a government official. Many tanneries have already shifted to the Leather Park in Unnao, as it gave them several facilities like common effluent treatment plant. It can be expanded to accommodate more.

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