Question : NATIONAL GANGA RIVER BASIN AUTHORITY

(a) whether some prominent members of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) have resigned from the organization recently;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor alongwith the corrective steps taken in this regard;

(c) whether the Clean Ganga Expedition has failed to achieve its objectives;

(d) if so, the details and the reasons therefor alongwith the expenditure incurred thereon;

(e) the details of the work expedited alongwith the expenditure incurred thereon;

(f) whether any environmentalist is undergoing fast to protect and preserve Ganga River; and

(g) if so, the details thereof and the action taken by the Government in this regard?

MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS (SHRIMATI JAYANTHI NATARAJAN)

(a) & (b) Shri Rajendra Singh, Shri Ravi Chopra and Prof R.H. Siddiqi, non-official expert members of the Authority, had conveyed their resignation vide e-mail dated 10.03.2012 in support of the demands of Prof. G.D Agarwal (now Swami Gyan Swarup Sanand) on issues concerning conservation of river Ganga. It was mentioned in the communication that no action has been taken inspite of request for immediate intervention by the Government in the matter. However, their resignation was not accepted by the Chairman and they attended the 3rd meeting of National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) held under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister on 17.04.2012.

(c) to (e) The NGRBA in its first meeting decided that under Mission Clean Ganga no untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluents flow into the river by 2020. In order to meet the shortfall in the sewage treatment infrastructure, projects amounting to Rs. 2598.47 crore have been sanctioned under the NGRBA for development of sewer networks, sewage treatment plants, electric crematoria, community toilets, development of river fronts etc in the States of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal. The Central Government has released an amount of Rs 492.06 crore to the States and an expenditure of Rs. 318.16 crore has been incurred till March 2012 towards implementation of these projects. Besides, a World Bank assisted project to be implemented over a period of 8 years at an estimated cost of Rs 7000 crore has also been approved for conservation and restoration of water quality of the river Ganga.

(f) & (g) Prof. G.D Agarwal (now Swami Gyan Swarup Sanand) of Ganga Sewa Abhiyan has been on fast demanding urgent measures by the NGRBA to protect river Ganga. In this regard, the issues raised by him were discussed in meeting of the NGRBA held on 17.04.2012 in the presence of the delegation of Ganga Sewa Abhiyan which represented him.