Ganga body will verify funds for projects

To ensure that the funds released to states under the Clean Ganga mission are not inflated, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), the nodal body for the project implementation, is planning to set up a project management unit which would “verify the fund requirements projected by the states”.

A source in NMCG said that for various projects and sub-projects the states are expected to come up with various concept notes, feasibility study reports. “We want to create a project management unit to support NMCG in reviewing these reports and notes so that a justified appraisal process could be designed,” the source said, adding, “This unit will be tasked to verify the fund requirements projected by the states.”

An invitation to consultancies interested in the job has been extended.

Sources in the water ministry said that the government is in a mood to centralise the functioning of the Clean Ganga mission, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pet projects, due to apparent lack of coordination between the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and administration in five states — Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal — from where the river passes. Last week, Union minister for water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation Uma Bharti had confirmed the formulation of a new Ganga Act.

The proposed act, the sources said, is likely to be an all encompassing central legislation seeking expedition of the execution of the work, which is lagging behind.

“As the Centre is trying to bring most of the work under its direct supervision, the main purpose behind creating a project management unit is to analyse the funds dynamics of states,” said the NMCG source, on condition of anonymity, adding, “The funds requirement which are to be reviewed mainly pertains to areas like sewerage, sewage treatment plants (STPs), river front development, industrial effluent treatment plants, solid waste management.”