Cracking the whip on those flouting pollution norms under the Namami Gange programme, the Uttar Pradesh government has slapped a fine of Rs 3 crore on a Varanasi-based company for lapses in running a sewage treatment plant (STP). The action came on the directions of principal secretary of the department Anurag Srivastava.

Sources said that the move follows after a recent review meeting found that some of the projects under the programme were either running slow or were delayed. “The desired results were missing,” said the source.

Teams from the Namami Gange department conducted raids at around 12 places across the state to check if STPs met the parameters and quality standards were set.

The first action was in Varanasi where Ramana STP was found to be operating outside the set parameters. After completion of probe, the Namami Gange department slapped Rs 3 crore fine on the company.

The Yogi-government has scaled up action and monitoring of the parameters and quality of STPs, both government and private, to ensure impetus on the National Mission for Clean Ganga. Nine teams have been constituted to conduct surprise inspections and investigate sewage disposal under the action plan.

Sources said that it’s a month-long exercise as water samples will be tested. “The crackdown was on the government’s mind for quite sometime,” added a source. Uttar Pradesh has 104 operational STPs, of which 44 are under the purview of Namami Ganga. The state government has rolled out an extensive awareness campaign for people towards cleanliness of Ganga.

Srivastava said that a clean and flowing Ganga is a priority for the government. “We are moving in that direction...action will continue to be initiated to ensure that sewage and pollutants do not find their way into the river, pollution levels are brought to zero and awareness is spread,” he said.

Disclaimer: This story has not been edited by Water Today staff and is generated from news feeds. Source: The Times of India