SC Raps Government Over Slowness Of The Ganga Action Plan

The Supreme Court has pulled up the Union environment ministry over its apathy towards river Ganga despite thespending up over Rs900 crore on the Ganga Action Plan (GAP), which promised to clean up the holy river.

At present a Central Ganga Authority headed by the PM, the Steering Committee under the Secretary, Planning Commission, and the National River Conservation Directorate are responsible for the maintenance of the river.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal issued notices to the Ganges basin states UP, Uttaranchal, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana and MP to file their status reports on the plan by October 31. The SC noted that various government appointment committees also couldn’t ensure a cleaner Ganga.

According to the World Health Organization one person dies every minute due to water-born diseases in the Ganga river basin which is home to nearly 400 million people, who depend on the river for livelihood and sustenance.