Corporates commit $5bn for Clean Ganga Mission

Indian corporates in the UK have committed over USD 5 billion for development projects under the Namami Gange Mission, which aims to clean the Ganges, the government said on Thursday. At a roadshow organised in London this week, Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari appealed to business leaders to participate in the mission to clean the Ganges. The roadshow was organised by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and the Indian High Commission in the UK.

Among the important MoUs signed were those by Anil Agarwal of the Vedanta Group for ghats and amenities along the Ganga at Patna; Ravi Mehrotra of the Foresight Group for projects in Kanpur; Hinduja Group for projects in Haridwar, and by Prakash Lohia of the Indo Rama Group for projects in Kolkata, the statement said.

These projects will be developed, built and operated by these corporates under their CSR initiatives. "MoUs were also signed for innovative technologies for river cleaning, with companies including Lyndon Water, Celtic Renewables, Medifarm, NVH Technologies and Arkatap," a government statement said. Apart from these, many companies and individuals have agreed to take on projects from a list of over 200 plans for which private funding has been sought. Projects worth more than Rs 10,000 crore, which govern the development of ghats, crematoria, waterbodies, parks, sanitation facilities, public amenities and the river front, need additional funding, the statement added.