The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, has called for making Ganga rejuvenation a mass movement. He called for specific action plans to unite the strength of various sections of society dedicated to "Ganga Seva." The Prime Minister was chairing the first high-level meeting on "Namaami Gange" - an integrated plan for Ganga rejuvenation today. The Prime Minister said the first priority should be "Nirmal Ganga" - a clean Ganga. The Prime Minister said the first priority in this mission should be to stop fresh generation of pollutants. He said teams of volunteers from various parts of the country could be involved in generating public awareness and perform Ganga seva by maintaining specific stretches of the river. Shri Narendra Modi referred to his vision for solid waste management and waste water management in 500 urban centres across India, through the PPP model, and said the first priority under this vision would be given to towns on the banks of the Ganga. The Prime Minister said suggestions being received from people on the MyGov website should be carefully studied. The Prime Minister said that Ganga rejuvenation could also be envisaged as a major mission to conserve the environment, with the involvement of nearly half the country's population. This would invite positive global attention, expertise and commitment, he added. The meeting was attended by Union Ministers Shri Venkaiah Naidu, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Ms. Uma Bharati, Shri Prakash Javdekar and Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, and top Government officials.
