New Delhi: Union minister Nitin Gadkari, who assumed additional charge of water resources today, has announced the formation of an inter-ministerial task force to expedite implementation of the Centre's Namami Gange mission.
Accompanied by his predecessor Uma Bharti, he also said the ministry would come out with a detailed schedule on achieving various targets under the mission in a time-bound and transparent manner in a week. He also heaped praises on Bharti for working hard and doing all the ground work towards cleaning the river in the past three years and said he would try to see that the ministry attained all the goals she had set.
"We will form a task force...We will come out with a schedule of targets to be achieved under the mission in a week. We will try to realise the dreams of the prime minister in a time-bound, transparent manner...we will attain all the deadlines fixed by Umaji," Gadkari told reporters here.
The task force is expected to have ministers and officials from water resources, urban development, drinking water and sanitation and rural development among others onboard. Praising Bharti, who headed the water resources ministry till the Cabinet was reshuffled yesterday, he said, "Assuming charge from her is like everything was ready in the kitchen and I took charge when the food was about to be served."
On her part, Bharti exuded confidence that the ministry would be able to attain its goals under Gadkari's leadership. Ministers of state for water resources Arjun Ram Meghwal and Satyapal Singh were also present at the briefing. Gadkari replaced Bharti in the ministry, allegedly as the Namami Ganga mission, dear to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a key poll promise of the ruling BJP, was moving at a snail's pace. PTI
