The chief minister said that since Gomti is a tributary of the Ganga, there should not be any problem in linking this project with Namami Gange.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Aditya Nath Yogi with Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma and Cabinet minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi at the inspection of Gomti River front in Lucknow.
NEW DELHI: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath has directed officials to explore ways to link the Rs 1,500-crore Gomti Riverfront Development Project with the Centre's Namami Gange programme for cleaning the Ganga.
The Gomti Riverfront Development Project, launched by the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, is scheduled to be completed by May 2017.
The new chief minister visited the site of the project in Lucknow on Monday morning, accompanied by deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma and senior officials. He expressed his dissatisfaction over the progress of the project, state officials said.
Although the state government has already spent about Rs 1,430 crore, there has been a demand of another Rs 1,500 crore for the project, said an official, who did not wish to be identified.
After inspecting the project, Adityanath told the officials that the main aim of the project is to ensure cleaning of the river water and, therefore, the first priority should have been to ensure that untreated drainage water does not enter the river.
He directed the officials that the drainage water should be treated well before it flows into the river. He also underlined the need for fixing a dateline to stop fall of drainage water into the river.
The chief minister said that since Gomti is a tributary of the Ganga, there should not be any problem in linking this project with Namami Gange, said a person familiar with the matter.
Adityanath told the officials that this will reduce the financial burden on the state government, the person said. Adityanath expressed unhappiness with the officials for leaving the project at the will of the contractors and the agency concerned.
"He felt there was no proper utilisation of funds in this project," said the official cited earlier. Besides, the official said, the chief minister gave clear instructions to stop chances, if any, of corruption in this project.
The chief minister directed the officials to review the progress of the project within a week and ensure that there is not any unnecessary expenditure. He also made it clear that the project should be completed on time, the official said.