SC raps Centre on Clean Ganga project

Showing displeasure over the affidavit filed on project, the Supreme Court asked the NDA Government to file a fresh report in three weeks.

The apex court was hearing an appeal on Ganga Action Plan on Wednesday.

Sources revealed that SC expressed its dissatisfaction with the Centre's affidavit on a road map to clean Ganga.

It asked Centre to file a fresh report in three weeks.

It also asked the NDA Government to clean the river in a stage-wise manner so that the apex court could monitor it.

The Centre on Tuesday filed an affidavit in the SC.

There the Government said that it is committed to clean Ganga and that rejuvenation of the river is a top national priority.

Reports emerged that the Centre in its affidavit has told the top court that consortium of IIT professionals have been entrusted with the task of finalising holistic Ganga River Basin Management and it will submit its report by the end of December this year.

It also submitted that they have started cleaning of Ghats and beautification of river fronts.

But, the top court on Wednesday dismissed the report.

Rapping NDA Government, the bench said, “The kind of affidavit that the government has submitted, it will take 200 more years to clean the river. It is a bureaucratic document. We want to understand your proposal on cleaning the river in layman's language.”

“Please try that the next generation is able to see the river in its original form. We don't know about our lives,” it added.

Earlier in August, the Supreme Court pulled up the BJP government for its failure in coming up with a plan to clean Ganga.

“Are you saving the Holy River,” it had then asked.