The cleaning of the Ganga is not only an environmental imperative but also an issue weighted by public sentiment and national prestige. In a bid to make it easier for the public to participate in the efforts, the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) is talking to the State Bank of India (SBI) to make it possible to donate to the Clean Ganga Fund (CGF) from ATMs.
“A major aspect of the CGF is that it isn’t about collecting a lot of money but about ensuring that people from all walks of life are involved in the task of cleaning the river,” said Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, director, NMCG. “Many individual donors contribute fixed amounts, and the ATM facility could be useful for them.”
Separate corpus
While the NMCG, an affiliate of the Union Water Resources Ministry, is executing the government’s ₹20,000-crore commitment to clean the Ganga, the CGF is a separate corpus made up of donations from corporates and individuals. At present, it has ₹250 crore in its kitty, which is being managed by the NMCG.
“We are in talks with the SBI to discuss how we can do this,” said Rozy Agrawal, executive director (Finance), NMCG. The Mission already has an agreement with Yes Bank, under which its ATMs display messages on keeping the river clean. Since Ganga rejuvenation projects have been notified as Corporate Social Responsibility activities, donations to the CGF qualify for income tax exemption. A web page on CSR activities lists projects such as ghat/crematoria construction and development and cleaning of ghats and drains through bio-remediation, river surface cleaning, solid waste disposal and afforestation.
As of now, about 90% of the CGF comes from State and Central government public sector units, according to information from the Lok Sabha. About ₹250 crore was collected as of July, and projects worth ₹225 crore sanctioned, Mr. Agrawal said.
The Shipping Corporati- on of India, Indorama Corp-oration, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, the Hinduja Group, Arcelor Mittal, Bajaj Electric-als, Amer Maritime, HCL, and Reliance Industries have either shown interest in or undertaken projects, an NMCG statement said.