Clean Ganga Fund gets Rs 255 cr under CSR

The India Inc, PSUs and NRIs besides individuals have doled out Rs 255 crore for the Clean Ganga Fund to undertake CSR activities for afforestation, sewage treatment and re-development of ghats and crematoriums.

Projects worth Rs 205.14 crore have been approved by the Board of Trustees of CGF, including annual plan for afforestation interventions in five main stem Ganga basin states through State Forest Departments worth Rs. 87.84 crore, treatment of five drains through in-situ bioremediation process worth Rs. 19 crore and redevelopment of ghats and crematoria and provision of amenities costing Rs. 98.3 crore, said a senior official from the Union Water Resources Ministry.

He pointed out that the significant projects that have been undertaken by the corporates include development of ghats at Gangotri and Badrinath at an estimated cost of Rs. 25.65 crore by Indorama Industries Ltd.

“Detailed project reports (DPRs) for the project have been prepared by WAPCOS, approvals are at an advanced stage and work is expected to start by the end of this month,” he said. Similarly, IndusInd Bank is undertaking a project for treatment of nine drains in Allahabad and Farrukhabad at the cost of Rs 9.5 Crore while the Shipping Corporation of India proposes to develop Katwa Ghat in West Bengal at a cost of Rs 35 lakh.

Among other projects Yes Bank proposes to develop ghats in Rishikesh and undertake plantation activities in Uttarakhand.

The New Indian Express is undertaking development of Shankaracharya Samadhi at Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, while the Hinduja Group is taking up ghat development work in Haridwar and Rishikesh.

Bajaj Electricals is undertaking plantations at Varanasi, Fatehpur, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Pratapgarh, Ballia and Mau in Uttar Pradesh. Amer Maritime will take up ghat development in Kanpur, HCL has plans for holistic development of ghats in Varanasi, bio remediation, tree plantation community development and Ganga Gram development.

Reliance Industries has plans for ghat development at Varanasi, Allahabad, Delhi, Haridwar, Kedarpuri and Rishikesh. These projects are at various procedural stages, and ArceloMittal is contributing to the Clean Ganga Fund.

In a meeting to review these projects, Union Minister of Water Resource, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari urged companies to come up with eco-friendly plans for development of the river bank.  “There are plans to set up a water Temple in a town along the river, a museum highlighting the river’s history and importance in the cities like Delhi, Haridwar, Allahabad and Varanasi.

The Government also plans to partner with SBI, UBI, HDFC and Axis Bank for utilization of their ATM networks for display of clean ganga message, and plantation of Rudraksha trees along the river in Uttarakhand.