The Centre has decided that no untreated municipal sewage and industrial effluent will be allowed to enter the Ganga river by 2020. This was decided at the much awaited meeting of newly formed National Ganga River Basin Authority, NGRBA, held yesterday in New Delhi to discuss measures to clean up the national river. The three-hour long meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh at his residence was attended by Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Ramesh Pokhriyal, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and representatives of West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.<br/><br/>It was agreed that the required resources will be provided by Centre and States over ten-year period to be shared suitably between Centre and states after Planning Commission consultations. New and innovative models for implementation like, for instance, special purpose vehicles will also be adopted.Union Ministry of Environment and Forests will also coordinate with states to prepare specific action plans for dealing with problem of industrial pollution in Ganga Basin by January 31, 2010. A Standing Committee of NGRBA is to be constituted headed by Union Finance Minister to meet more frequently and review implementation.<br/><br/>Union Minister Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh and deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia were also present at the first meeting of the authority.