Minister of State Rattan Lal Kataria demanded construction of dams should be stopped (Representational)

The government on Wednesday asserted in Rajya Sabha that it is committed to cleaning the river Ganga and has earmarked Rs 20,000 crore for the ''Namami Gange'' programme in the last five years.

Minister of State in Jal Shakti Ministry Rattan Lal Kataria said various efforts were being made in this direction, including rehabilitation of previous schemes.

"Understanding the significance of the Ganga, the government is committed to ensure its cleanliness and purity and conceptualised the ''Namami Gange'' programme towards this aim. The government allocated Rs 20,000 crore in the last five years for this campaign," the minister said.

Mr Kataria was participating in a short duration discussion on the issue raised by Rewati Raman Singh of Samajwadi Party.

Mr Singh expressed concern over the state of the river. He said glaciers were melting at a rapid rate, and "if this continues, the river will vanish".

He demanded that construction of dams should be stopped to save the Ganga.