New Delhi: As a special initiative, Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Sushri Uma Bharti, today launched the Bagori Ganga Gram project, New Swajal Project at Bagori and Gangotri Iconic Place at Dunda village in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. Besides creating cleanliness, providing basic amenities to the people of Ganga bank villages, these projects would also generate employment.
ODF village Bagori is one of the 24 pilot Ganga Villages picked up to be transformed into Ganga Grams this year. As a first step to it, the Minister inaugurated solid and liquid waste management scheme of Rs 11.88 lakh at Bagori. She urged the people to join in the mission of making Ganga villages true in complete sense. To give huge momentum to tree plantation in Ganga catchment area, Uma Bharati along with Prakash Pant, Drinking and Sanitation Minister, Uttarakhand, Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary, MDWS , local MLA and other central and state government officials participated in tree plantation programme at Dharasu NMCG Nursery. More than 1.5 lac saplings are ready to be planted in Ganga Catchment area in Uttarkashi this year.
The Minister urged people that tree plantation on river bank is also the responsibility of people. She further said that integrated development by engaging communities is in the heart of Ganga Gram Concept.
Uma Bharati also inaugurated new Swajal Project at Bagori with a budget of more than 32 lakh rupees. Swajal is a community owned drinking water programme for sustained drinking water supply. Prakash Pant also told that the state is planning to provide water supply to hundreds of villages in Uttarakhand. He also urged people to come forward and adopt this New Swajal Project as it adopted the old Swajal scheme.
Later in the day, Uma Bharti also visited village Sadag, where Swajal scheme is successfully running since 1996.
The Union Minister also launched Gangotri as Swachh Iconic Places. ONGC with its CSR fund will help in taking Gangotri to a higher level of swachhta. DPR for this has been completed by the district administration. The SIP project is being coordinated by Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation (MDWS), in collaboration with Union Ministries of Housing & Urban Affairs, Tourism, Culture, state governments, municipal and local agencies.
Secretary, DWS, who was also the first Project Director of Swajal, in his address gave brief description of Ministry’s plans regarding Ganga Gram, Swajal and SIP projects.
In the evening, Sushri Uma Bharati also participated in Ganga Chaupal in Uttarkashi, where she encouraged people and community to work towards making villages on Ganga Bank as Adarsh Ganga Grams.
