Nashik,

06 May (HS): The Maharashtra Government has approved the ‘Namami Goda Action

Plan’ for cleaning the Godavari River and making it pollution-free. The Action

Plan was prepared by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board, based on the ‘Namami

Gange’ project.

Godawari

River, which originates at Tryambakeshwar in Nashik district, is the second biggest

river after Ganga, and is called the Ganga of South. The 506 km long Godavari flows

through Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Parbhani, and

Nanded districts before entering Telangana, and then via Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,

and Odisha, merges into the Bay of Bengal. The entire span has been categorized

into five levels by the MPCB. Under the ‘Namami Goda’ project, improving

treatment of wastewater from industries before releasing into the river, waste

management, and other traditional methods are considered.

A

committee under the Divisional Commissioners and the involvement of local

self-government bodies have been planned to implement the project effectively. The committees will also have at least two

representatives of non-government organisations working in the field of

environmental protection.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Ajay Vasant Mardikar