The government of India is all set to clean 1,600 village panchayat headquarters along the river banks within the next six months and complete the first phase of Ganga cleaning by October this year. The second phase will be attained in four years after that in which 6,000 villages will be taken up for the programme. Bharti was speaking on the sidelines of ‘Swachh Ganga- Gramin Sahbhagita’, a national-level consultation programme organized for heads of villages located along the river banks.

The event, considered to be the first attempt to rope in villagers in the ‘Clean Ganga’ mission, saw the participation of around 1,200 panchayat heads.

The Water Resources Ministry also inked MoUs with HRD, Shipping, Rural Development, Sports, Tourism, Ayush and Youth Affairs and Sports Ministries for carrying out various activities under the ‘Namami Gange’ programme. As per the MoUs, all institutes affiliated to HRD along the river stretch will join the mission and old water bodies located along the Ganga and the Yamuna will be restored.

Government is also planning to initiate organic farming along Ganga banks to generate jobs for local youth. Bharti said several celebrities and renowned personalities, including spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and film actor Amitabh Bachchan, have expressed a desire to be part of the mission.