Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

Ganga Basin Authority notification discussed

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's meeting which decided to declare the River Ganga a national river a meeting chaired by the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister today discussed the framework for the proposed Ganga River Basin Authority. The State Governments of basin states generally endorsed the key features of the draft notification for comprehensive planning for the river. The Ganga River Basin Authority is to be chaired by the Prime Minister with the Chief Ministers of the five Ganga Basin states of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal as members. It will also have the Union Ministers of Environment and Forests, Finance, Urban Development, Water Resources, Power, Science and Technology and Dy. Chairman, Planning Commission as members.

A draft notification proposing to constitute the Authority under section 3 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 was discussed, at the meeting. The State Governments agreed to give comments within one week. The draft notification discussed at the meeting clarifies that the proposed body would not be a separate additional clearance mechanism but would focus itself on planning for the river as a totality and address pollution abatement measures through ensuring adequate ecological flow in the river and specific interventions for sewerage treatment. At the meeting it was agreed to finalise the notification within the next few days.