New Delhi: The Environment Ministry will
soon set up a Ganga Knowledge Centre (GKC), a single point of
reference sharing details on data and plans and policies that
would aid in cleaning up the one of the longest rivers in the
world.
"It would be a knowledge repository, where under one
roof all relevant data such as pollution status, sewage
treatment plants` installation and future policies for making
the Ganga pollution free will be available," Rajiv Gauba,
Joint Secretary in the ministry said today.
The establishment of the Centre is one of the mandate
of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA), set up
just a few months back by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with
an aim to cleanse the river by 2020.
The 2,510 km river originates from the western
Himalayas in the Uttarakhand state of India, and drains into
the Sunderbans delta in the Bay of Bengal.
"We are roping in prominent consultants for
establishment and operationalisation of the functional arms
of NGRBA`s central and state-level institutions including the
Ganga Knowledge Centre," Gauba said.
He elaborated that GKC would be like a store-house
where all short and long-term plans for sustainable
development of Ganga river basin, investigations, pollution
levels, its social, cultural and religious dimensions would be
available to public as well researchers.
"We are in the process of setting it up and the
location is yet to be identified," the official added.
The ministry has received project preparation facility
(PPF) advance of USD 2.96 million from World Bank for
supporting the preparation of a clean-up investment project
for the river.
PTI
