Central government releases additional Rs 37.5 crores for Buddha Nullah cleaning

Ludhiana, March 2, 2014: The government of India has released an additional central assistance of Rs 37.50 crores for the Buddha Nullah cleaning project. This is in addition to the Rs 50 crores earlier provided by the Planning Commission and Rs 16 crores provided under bio-remediation project for the cleaning of the Nullah by the Environment Ministry, government of India.
Disclosing this here today, the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister and local MP Manish Tewari said that after he pursued the matter with the Planning Commission of India, it recommended the payment of additional central assistance of Rs 37.50 crores for the domestic sewerage of Ludhiana city after treatment at the Sewerage Treatment Plant through Buddha Nullah and by connecting network of distributaries and waters courses.
The Minister said, the funds are being released to the state government immediately with the direction that these may be released to the implementing agency without any delay. Failure in doing so will lead to the recovery of the money with interest for the period of default.
Tewari hoped that the state government will ensure that the funds are properly utilised and do not meet the same fate as the Rs 50 crores he got released in August 2009 of which the state government is yet to provide any account as how and where it spent these. Because, he added, this money was never spent on the Buddha Nullah cleaning.