The Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga, Shri G. Asok Kumar today participated in a session on ‘Arth Ganga for Smart Cities’ at the ongoing 7th Smart Cities India Expo. NMCG has set up a pavilion for three days from 23rd March to 25th March 2022 at the Expo, which was inaugurated yesterday. Shri G. Asok Kumar, the keynote speaker at the event, began by giving an overview of the Namami Gange Programme and said that it is the mandate of the Programme to clean River Ganga and also its tributaries. He emphasized on the biodiversity aspect, including Ganga Dolphin, of Namami Gange Programme that is part of the whole rejuvenation project.
Shri Kumar informed the audience that by December end this year, 3 main STPs on Yamuna funded by NMCG will be completed including Rithala, Kondli and Okhla, which is one of the biggest STPs in Asia. This will help in preventing sewage from drains falling into Yamuna. He added that the Namami Gange Programme is committed to revive river Yamuna.
Talking about Arth Ganga, he said “Our slogan for Arth Ganga is – Banking on River Ganga” that is, the idea of Arth Ganga is primarily linking people and Ganga through the bridge of economics. He also talked about six pillars of Arth Ganga including monetisation of sludge (by providing natural manure to farmers), monetisation of treated water, making ghats etc., creating markets/tourism, institution building and capacity building.
Other speakers reflected on the importance of sludge management and suggested the ways to do it. They also gave an insight into the potential of Arth Ganga in various sectors including culture, tourism etc. The speakers deliberated upon the potential challenges, solutions and the roadmap ahead for the Arth Ganga model to achieve its intended outcomes. It discussed topics ranging from the need for strengthening people-river connect, promoting circular water economy, adopting sustainable agriculture practices, conserving and protecting riverine ecosystems and biodiversity, localized climate change mitigation solutions, and reviving natural and cultural heritage.
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BY/AS