Overseas Indians contributed less than 2 per cent to Clean Ganga Fund, 86 per cent from govt entities

The CGF was cleared by the Union Cabinet on September 24, 2014, and constituted in January 2015. It is managed by the National Mission for Clean Ganga under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

The fund is managed by the National Mission for Clean Ganga.

OVER 86 PER CENT of contributions to the Clean Ganga Fund (CGF) since 2015, totalling Rs 189.17 crore, were made by government entities while those from NRIs and PIOs were less than two per cent, according to records obtained by The Indian Express under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

According to records provided by the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, under the RTI Act, contributions from “government departments, government organisations, public sector undertakings” received during 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 (till September 30) added up to Rs 163.49 crore, or 86.42 per cent, of the total contribution.

The records show that “private organisations” contributed Rs 19.54 crore, or 10.32 per cent of the total, during this period while NRIs and PIOs donated Rs 3.76 crore. Contributions under the “individual” category totalled Rs 2.37 crore, or 1.25 per cent of the total.

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According to RTI records, Rs 234.98 crore is available at present in the CGF.

The CGF was cleared by the Union Cabinet on September 24, 2014, and constituted in January 2015. It is managed by the National Mission for Clean Ganga under the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

According to the CGF’s official website, the fund is “open to all — domestic as well as international (NRI & PIO)”. When the CGF was established, the Ministry had said that it would be set up “with voluntary contributions from residents of the country and NRIs/PIOs and others to harness their enthusiasm to contribute towards the conservation of the river Ganga.”

Shyamlal Yadav

Shyamlal Yadav is one of the pioneers of the effective use of RTI for investigative reporting. He is a member of the Investigative Team. His reporting on polluted rivers, foreign travel of public servants, MPs appointing relatives as assistants, fake journals, LIC’s lapsed policies, Honorary doctorates conferred to politicians and officials, Bank officials putting their own money into Jan Dhan accounts and more has made a huge impact. He is member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). He has been part of global investigations like Paradise Papers, Fincen Files, Pandora Papers, Uber Files and Hidden Treasures. After his investigation in March 2023 the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York returned 16 antiquities to India. Besides investigative work, he keeps writing on social and political issues. ... Read More

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