Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) has been receiving financial (by way of loan) and technological assistance for cleaning of river Ganga from foreign countries/external agencies.
Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Netherlands on June 27, 2017, with an objective to strengthen technological, scientific capabilities and to promote cooperation in the field of water management. The area of cooperation under the MoU signed with Netherlands includes “Pollution abatement for rivers including river Ganga” as one of the objectives.
Further, GIZ, Germany, has been providing technical cooperation to the project ‘Support to Ganga Rejuvenation’ under Indo-German Bilateral Development Cooperation and has committed an amount of Euro (€) 3 million.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has sanctioned two loans aggregating JPY 43.755 billion for the Ganga Action Plan II Project (Varanasi) (GAP II) and the Yamuna Action Plan Project III (YAP III) in Delhi, according to a PIB release.
World Bank has sanctioned a loan of US $ 1 billion to Government of India (GOI) for funding the National Ganga River Basin Authority Projects. Funds under this loan are available interalia for Institutional Development Projects and Priority Infrastructure Projects undertaken on the main stem of Ganga.
All releases by World Bank and JICA are by way of reimbursement of expenses incurred on the approved projects forming part of projects approved by them. This information was given by Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Satya Pal Singh in a written reply in Lok Sabha on January 4, 2018, according to the PIB release.