Jal Shakti Minister CR Paatil emphasised the need for widespread adoption of treated wastewater reuse during a meeting of the Empowered Task Force (ETF) on Ganga rejuvenation on Wednesday. The meeting, chaired by Paatil, included senior officials from the Ministry of Jal Shakti and representatives from key states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, and West Bengal.

Rajeev Kumar Mital, Director General, National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), presented updates on various initiatives, including the reuse of treated water, biodiversity conservation, and the remediation of polluted river stretches.

The session also reviewed the River Action Plan and natural farming efforts to rejuvenate the river. Paatil stressed the importance of collaboration among stakeholders to ensure timely project completion under the Namami Gange programme. He urged state governments to expedite the submission of project reports for polluted river sections and ensure villages along the river achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus status.

Paatil highlighted the need to harness tourism potential along riverbanks for regional economic growth and infrastructure development. He also called for prioritising the reuse of treated wastewater in sectors such as power and construction to reduce dependency on freshwater.

A National Framework for the Reuse of Treated Water has been released by the NMCG, and all states are expected to align their policies accordingly. Paatil also advocated for Urban River Management Plans to be integrated into city-level rejuvenation initiatives and praised the development of the Smart Lab for Clean Rivers, a collaborative project with Denmark and IIT-BHU.

(ET)