More than Rs 7,000 crore from the 'Namami Gange' programme will be spent in Uttar Pradesh, Union Minister Uma Bharti said today as she asked the Akhilesh Yadav government not do politics on the project for cleaning the holy river and co-operate with the Centre.
"Of the Rs 20,000 crore allocated for the project, seven to eight thousand crore rupees would be spent in Uttar Pradesh alone," Bharti told reporters in Vrindavan.
"The project is starting from October this year and will becompleted by 2017," she said.
Bharti sought co-operation from the Akhilesh Yadav government for this purpose.
"On one hand, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, BSP chief Mayawati and other leaderssay in Parliament that political mileage should not be derived out of the project for cleaning Ganga and Yamuna, on the other hand, Uttar Pradesh government is acting otherwise," she said.
The Water Resources minister alleged that the UP CM was not granting time to officers of her department to give a presentation on the project for granting of NOC.
"I asked Akhilesh to grant NOC to the project and, on his request, said I would present it before him within three days. However a week has passed and the Chief Minister has not yet given time to officers of my department," she alleged.
She said she considers herself as a "dear younger sister" of Mulayam Singh Yadav.
"I am Akhilesh's 'bua' (aunt). He should not do politics on the issue. The officials are waiting for last seven days. He should give an NOC soon so that the work can start," she said.
Bharti said work on the project started yesterday in Delhi, while it will commence from Monday in Jharkhand.
"We do not want Yamuna water to be polluted when it reaches here. The polluted water of Yamuna will be treated by refinery and can be used by farmers for irrigation purpose," she said.
"Discharge of clean water from Delhi to Mathura now has been ensured by launching a scheme to remove solid waste with trash skimmers in Delhi," she said.
Bharti said Rs 825 crore would be spent in Mathura-Vrindavan area for the project. 500 crematoriums will be built while scores of ghats will be developed. "So we are expecting that the state government would start cooperating soon and decks will be cleared to start the work."
The minister said state government need not spend a single paisa for the project as it is centrally funded.
"The states will save their money and the Centre will save its time with this decision of the Prime Minister," she said.
