Union Environment and Forest Minister T R Baalu on Saturday announced a Rs 150-crore project for cleansing of River Vaigai, flowing through the ancient city of Madurai. Talking to newspersons in Madurai after discussing the project with the officials, he said that under the project, sewage would be intercepted, diverted and treated, river bunds would be raised and green pathways would be laid on either side of the riverbanks. He said that a major portion of the project amount would be allotted by his ministry and the urban development ministry (Rs 30 crore to Rs 40 crore each.) the project would be taken up soon and completed in three years, he added. “While River Cauvery in Kumbakonam would also be taken up for cleansing of sewage, River Tamiraparani would be taken up under National Conservation of Rivers Programmes of the Environment Ministry,” he said. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Jagmohan said that his ministry had formulated two schemes for development of cities-- the mega city programme and preservation of cultural heritage of ancient cities. Under the mega city programme, cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Calcutta, Mumbai and Bangalore would be taken up for development and under the other scheme Varanasi, Madurai and Tiruchirapalli (TN), and Ujjain (MP) would be taken up. The two union ministers, earlier, accompanied by Tamil Nadu Speaker P T R Palanivel Rajan and other officials, inspected various points in the river including sewerage points to have a first-hand knowledge of how much the river was polluted. Bureau Report