Rejuvenation plans for Godavari & Krishna ready

Rajamahendravaram(East Godavari District): Rajahmundry MP Margani Bharat Ram made a mention of river conservation and revival in Parliament on Thursday. He asked whether it's true that the Centre has prepared detailed project reports (DPRs) for the revival of 13 major rivers in the country and wanted to know the details of rivers identified from Andhra Pradesh for this purpose. He also asked the estimated time frame for the completion of the proposed works in the State.

Minister of State for Jal Shakti Bishweswar Tudu replied that for the conservation and rejuvenation of rivers, his ministry is working hard to reduce pollution in the identified rivers of the country. He said by providing financial and technical assistance, the efforts of the States/Union Territories will be supported.

A centrally sponsored scheme - National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) dwells on the establishment of sewage infrastructure and Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) in polluted towns/cities along rivers. The Minister said that the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) recently released Detailed Project Reports (DPR) for the revitalisation of 13 major rivers by the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) in Dehradun in consultation with state forest departments.

These include Sutlej, Beas, Ravi, Chenab, Jhelum, Luni, Yamuna, Mahanadi, Brahmaputra, Narmada, Kaveri, Godavari, and Krishna. The proposed outlay of these 13 DPRs is Rs 19,342.63 crore under four major components-- implementation of forestry interventions, strengthening knowledge management & national capacity development, maintenance phase including scaling-up replication of successful models and national coordination for forestry interventions and river conservation.

Minister Bishweswar said the works proposed under these DPRs include riverside afforestation, measures to increase greenery, measures to prevent soil erosion, groundwater table, sequester carbon dioxide, watershed treatment, ecological restoration, moisture conservation, livelihood enhancement, and income generation, development, and ecotourism. Public awareness should be raised to improve water quality and flow in riverfronts, ecological parks, and rivers. It is expected to implement these works through the state agriculture and horticulture departments, local organisations, and State forest departments.