Manmohan Singh chairs Ganga River Basin Authority meet India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh here on Monday chaired a meeting of the newly formed Ganga River Basin Authority (GRBA). The authority has been formed to streamline steps to clean up Ganga. Chief Ministers of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal were invited to the meeting. These are the states through which the Ganga River flows. While Bihar and Uttarakhand Chief Ministers Nitish Kumar and Ramesh Pokhariyal respectively attended the meeting, the other two did not attend. Besides, Forest snd Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh and Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy attended the meeting. The setting up of the GRBA got the approval of Dr. Singh in February. The GRBA is responsible for addressing the problem of pollution in the Ganga in a holistic and comprehensive manner. This will include water quality, minimum ecological flows, sustainable access and other issues relevant to river ecology and management. The authority has been given the task of managing the basin in addition to look after the cleanliness of the river water flowing through various states. The Ganga Basin states include Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.