“Not a single drop of the Ganga has been cleaned so far,” the National Green Tribunal (NGT) said on Monday, noting that government agencies were only wasting public money in the name of cleaning the river.

A Bench headed by NGT chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar asked government agencies to work together for the cause, saying, “The Prime Minister has given you a goal, take it as a national project.”

‘Waste of public mney’

“It is the fault of the CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) and other government agencies, who are not doing their job properly. Had you (authorities) done your job properly, you would not be standing here (before the court)... You have done nothing. It is a waste of public money... Everyone says they are doing a lot to clean the Ganga, but not a single drop of the river has been cleaned,” the NGT Bench said.

The tribunal also asked the government agencies about how they were executing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious ‘Namami Gange project’, adding that it did not want the “drama” regarding complaints between the Centre and Uttar Pradesh to go on.

The Central government has allotted over ₹2,000 crore under the ‘Namami Gange’ programme for the purpose of cleaning the Ganga.

Industrial units warned

Further, the tribunal also warned 14 industrial units operating in the Bijnor and Amroha districts, along the banks of the Ganga, to be ready to be shut down while asking them to justify why they should not face action.