Venkaiah Naidu suggests strategy to implement Clean India drive

New Delhi: Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday called for sustained campaign, voluntary participation and the role of NGO's and private sectors for effective implementation of Clean India Campaign.

"Sustained campaign - continue the chain of nine; focus more on behavioural change - encourage voluntary public participation; and to recognize Urban Local Bodies, NGOs and Private Sector is significant for the success of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan," Naidu said while reviewing the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission in the national capital.

The minister emphasised that every socially conscious citizen and public representative should be persuaded to make nine people take up the task of campaigning for Swachh Bharat and each one of them should pass on to nine others to keep the campaign going.

"We should rope in not only social but also spiritual and religious leaders for this campaign. Respectable persons from the society also have to be brought in to spread the core message of this campaign," he said.

To make the coordination level better between the civic bodies in the city he said that the MCDs and DDA should meet twice a week to sort out the issues which are hindering the solid waste management in the capital.

"The local bodies should make sure that they get the feedback on regular basis, all hospitals should be fumigated at least once a fortnight and orders for mandatory recycling of waste by government bodies should be issued," he said.

The minister directed that all officers should get together once a week for taking up Clean India Mission and all municipal corporations should prepare action plans for the construction of toilets, dumps in slums and JJ colonies.

"The government will focus on infrastructure creation, construction of toilets, both individual and community, setting up of new treatment plants for solid and sewerage waste, distribution of enough dust bins," he said.

The minister said that a proposal is under government's consideration to recognize performing Urban Local Bodies (ULB) in respect of sanitation and to institute a state level award to encourage their sustained performance and to motivate other ULBs.