New Delhi, Oct 5 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will chair the first meeting of the Ganga River Basin Authority (GRBA) here today.

Chief Ministers of States through which the Ganga flows such as Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh will hold a discussion on ways to clean up the river.

The issue of roping in international financial institutions to fund the cleaning up of the Ganga will also be considered.

The setting up of the GRBA got the approval of Dr. Singh in February.

The GRBA is responsible for addressing the problem of pollution in the Ganga in a holistic and comprehensive manner. This will include water quality, minimum ecological flows, sustainable access and other issues relevant to river ecology and management.

The authority has been given the task of managing the basin in addition to look after the cleanliness of the river water flowing through various states.

The Ganga Basin states include Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. (ANI)