Manohar Lal Instructed to impose STP at the exit point of all drains that flow into Saraswati river

Chandigarh : Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal has directed to set up Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) at the exit point of all drains that flow into Saraswati river and work towards setting up a power plant on the dam to be built in Adi Badri. The Chief Minister was presiding over the meeting of the Governing Body of the Saraswati Heritage Development Board here today. Deputy Chairman, Saraswati Heritage Development Board, Sh. Dhuman Singh and Former Deputy Chairman, Saraswati Heritage Development Board, Sh Bharat Bhushan Bharti  were present during the meeting.During the review meeting, the Chief Minister was apprised about the progress of the works done so far and asked to complete the project within the stipulated time. To make this river flow, not only will the dam be built but barrage and small reservoirs will also be constructed. This will bring the ground water level up, so that not only will the area come out of the dark zone, but it will also be in the interest of the farmers.Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal took stock of the progress related to the construction of the proposed dam in the Saraswati project and gave necessary directions for setting up a power generation plant with the dam. Along with this, he also asked to settle the pending matters with Himachal Pradesh at the earliest. He said that since dams are already being constructed, a large power generation plant should be set up to produce as much electricity as possible.

Emphasis on promotion of tourism in Adi Badri and Pipli

It was informed in the meeting that work is being done to promote tourism at the ghats at Adibadri and Pipli. The cafeteria has been established in Adibadri with the assistance of the Tourism Department. With this, a paved road has also been constructed. Work is also being done to build the riverfront to attract tourists. The Chief Minister said that everything should be done in a time-bound manner and all works should be completed within the stipulated time.Sh. Dhuman Singh said that a plan is being devised to construct an underpass on the National Highway to connect the Ghat at Pipli with the zoo to attract tourists. This will be completed soon.

Public Health Department will look after STP monitoring

It was informed in the meeting that despite STPs being installed in many places, they are not being commissioned and dirty water is being pumped directly into the Saraswati river. Taking strong cognizance of this, the Chief Minister directed the Public Health Department to monitor the STPs. He also said that in case of STP, the task of fault-finding should also be seen by the officers of the Public Health Department.

The Board will pay for the Research Centre

The Board will bear the expenses for the Centre set up under the Chair at Kurukshetra University for research on the Saraswati River. The Chief Minister gave directions in this regard and said that because the research has to be done under the Saraswati Heritage Development Board, therefore, the Board should also bear the expenses incurred and the audit report of the expenditure of the amount released by the Board should be presented to the Board by the Chair at the scheduled time. For this, he asked to earmark Rs 20 lakh annually for the Chair and for research works (water testing and carbon dating etc.).Haryana Chief Secretary, Sh. Vijay Vardhan, Additional Chief Secretary and Financial Commissioner, Revenue & Disaster Management and Consolidation Department, Sh. Sanjeev Kaushal, Additional Chief Secretary, Finance, Sh. TVSN Prasad, Additional Chief Secretary, Public Health Engineering Department, Sh. Devender Singh and other senior officers were present during the meeting.