Haridwar, November 29
Maintaining sanctity and purity of the Ganga is a main priority of the state government and it is committed to it. Chief Minister Harish Rawat said this while addressing the inaugural session of the two-day ‘Global Interface Wash Alliance’ summit organised by the Global Interfaith Wash in collaboration with Unicef at Parmarth Niketan Ashram in Rishikesh today.
Chief Minister Harish Rawat appreciated the objectives of this summit, saying this is a beginning to transform India into a clean, green and healthy nation, in which religious leaders from 200 countries extended their support.
The Chief Minister blamed the Union Government for the inability of Uttarakhand to achieve the clean Ganga target owing to paucity of adequate funds.
To achive this target, the Chief Minister demanded a budget allocation of Rs 10,000 crore from the Centre and guaranteed to clean the Ganga from Gaumukh-Gangotri till Haridwar.
The Chief Minister said that if the Central Government gave aid to the state government, “we are ready to ensure 100 per cent clean and pure Ganga.”
Citing two drives of ‘Nirmal Bharat’ and ‘Swachh Bharat’, Rawat said that the main motive of both was the same and the Nirmal Bharat drive was the next phase of Swachh Bharat.
“Like the Indian Constitution the Ganga and the Himalayas are secular. They cater to everyone irrespective of caste, creed, religion or sect. It is high time that we all take a pledge to ensure that the Ganga is cleaned. The Uttarakhand government is doing its job but we need additional funds from the Centre to clean the Ganga,”said Rawat.
Referring to the Ganga Action Plan initiated by late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in mid 80s, Harish Rawat said it was the maiden major step towards Ganga cleaning.
He emphasised the pivotal role Uttarakhand had in the clean Gang drive as the sacred river originates from the state at Gaumukh –Gangotri and was clean till Haridwar as compared to other states.