NEW DELHI: Despite cleaning of Ganga being the top priority of the NDA government, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked why the new dispensation was not showing interest in cleaning the river and set a two-week timeline for it to come up with a roadmap on the issue.
A bench headed by Justice T.S. Thakur wanted to know whether the issue of cleaning of Ganga was on the front-burner or back-burner.
“Are you saving river Ganga? It was also there in your manifesto. Why don’t you act on it?” the bench asked, while referring to the BJP’s pre-poll promise to clean the river. “Is the issue on the front-burner or the back-burner? These issues are very important and it has to be put on the front-burner,” the bench said when solicitor-general Ranjit Kumar sought more time to respond. He said the matter has been assigned to the ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation, which were earlier handled by the ministry of environment and forests.
The bench then adjourned the matter asking the Centre to file an affidavit within two weeks giving details about what it proposes to do for cleaning the river.
