Additional Chief Secretary holds 1st meeting of SAARA Implementation Committee
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 24 Jun: The government has once again claimed that work will soon be started on the plan for revival of 5 rivers of the state and over 5000 other water sources. It may be recalled that not very long ago, the BJP Government led by then Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had declared that major rivers of Doon valley like Rispana and Bindal would be rejuvenated. Not only this, under this rejuvenation plan, Rispana River was also renamed as Rishiparna, claiming that it was the ancient name of the river. However, nothing really happened on rejuvenation of Rispana.
Today, Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan chaired a meeting to discuss and review the plans prepared for revival and rejuvenation of 5 major rivers of the state and 5,428 other identified water sources which are drying up slowly. At the meeting, it was stated that work will soon be started on the plan to revive five rivers and more than five thousand water sources of the state. The rivers concerned are Song, Eastern and Western Nayar, Shipra and Gauri. It was stated that every possible effort will be made to conserve and revive constant water flow of these rivers. Along with this, a continuous flow of water will also be ensured in respect of 5,428 identified drying water sources, and they will be revived and conserved.
These decisions were taken at the first meeting of the State Level Implementation Committee of Spring and River Rejuvenation Authority (SARRA) here today. The meeting was held at the Secretariat under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary Anand Vardhan.
The Additional Chief Secretary directed that all the departments concerned should work in mutual harmony to fulfil the objectives of SARRA. He said that before getting the proposals approved by the committee, the proposals prepared in this regard be sent to all the departments concerned and comments and feedback sought from these departments. Vardhan stressed that the drying water sources, rivers and streams should be identified as soon as possible and remedial work started. He said that a mechanism should be prepared for the evaluation of the project, and dedicated staff should be deployed for evaluation and monitoring of the revival projects. He directed that year to year targets should be set by categorising the works to be done under the authority at the state and district levels. The annual action plan for this financial year should be prepared and submitted in the next one month to the state administration.
Anand Vardhan observed that there is a great need for greater public awareness of the situation and the need to make the scheme successful on the ground. Active participation of the public should also be ensured along with raising public awareness about need for revival of rivers and water sources by conserving rainwater. The districts should be allocated budget on time for these projects. He asked to prepare a calendar for the timely implementation of the schemes.
During the meeting, the committee selected 5 rivers of the state, Song (Dehradun-Tehri), Eastern and Western Nayar (Pauri), Shipra (Nainital) and Gauri (Champawat) for long-term treatment during the first phase. Additional Chief Executive Officer (SARRA) Neema Grewal shared that water conservation campaign is being organised in the state from April 2024 to August 2024, along with this, Jal Utsav week was also organised from 10 June to 16 June 2024. Till now a total of 5,428 water sources have been identified for treatment and revival across the state. On this occasion, heads of the departments concerned including members of the State Level Implementation Committee were present.
