Taskforce agenda finalised by Arpa Revival Plan Committee

Bilaspur, Aug 29:
Arpa river revival plan was finalised here in a meeting chaired by District Collector Dr. Saransh Mittar. Water flow density, pollution index, aforestation along the river bed and encroachments were discussed and a task force agenda was discussed in the meeting.
The members of Arpa Revival Committee also in detail discussed its point of origin, mining spots, river bed erosion, sewage water flow, and ecological radar of the rivers flowing path. The team appraised the Collector over industrial units producing pollutants and addressed the need of major plantation drive along the river bed to stop erosion and land slide.
Panel of Ecologist present in the meeting advised the plantation of Arjunda trees to increase coastal water retention, and bank degradedness. It needs a mention here that a total of 625 villages from 08 Developmental Blocks of Bilaspur, Mungeli, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi and Korba are getting irrigation from the river, and is considered the life line of the district.
Arpa Development Authority, the body regulating and managing irrigation and projects in the river, have demanded the prevention of flow of sewage water into the river only after post treatment. In the meeting, the officials of the Mineral Department also informed the panel, about the action taken against illegal mining, transportation and storage in Arpa River and surrounding areas.
Present in the meeting were GPM Collector Namrata Gandhi, CEO Zila Panchayat Mr. Harish S, Additional Collector Jayshree Jain, Forest Divisional Officer Kumar Nishant, Municipal Commissioner Ajay Tripathi, Member Advocate U.N.S. Dev, State Legal Services Authority representative Sunil Otwani, Prof.  P.L. Chandrakar, Ecologist Neeraj Verma and other officials