Ganga cleansing on for 30 years, Supreme Court seeks 'verifiable progress'

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court sought details of the government’s ambitious plan to clean up the Ganga, suggesting on Wednesday that it may also monitor progress.

"If you take river water samples at Haridwar, you should be able to say we can reduce pollution within three months or so. You complete the first stretch and take up the next 100 km. If you start cleaning the entire 2,500kmriver at the same time,there will be no progress," the benchsaid.

A three-judge bench led by JusticeTSThakurishearinga public interest litigation seeking intervention to ensure effluent treatment along the river. He sought to get solicitor general Ranjit Kumar to commit to a schedule as he was presenting an elaborate plan.

The court also put pressure on the government to act on domestic waste. "We don’twantto get into the nitty-gritty of committees. You should take steps so that Ganga gets its pristine glory.

We don’t know whether we will see it or not. The cleaning of the Ganga has been on for the last 30 years and Rs 2,000 crore has been spent so far," the court observed.

The government lawyer said funds were not a constraint and that he would file a status report outlining what had been done on dealing with domestic waste with in six weeks.

The BJP had made this one of its campaign pledges during last year’s general election, promising a plan that would involve a major revamp of sewage facilities in 118 towns on the river’s banks in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand. The plan will involve fresh spending of Rs 51,000 crore.