National Coordinated Action takes off for clean-up of 10 iconic places as Models of Swachhta under SBM
Posted on 09 Jul, 2016 5:26 pm
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, on July 8 and 9, 2016, organized a 2-day workshop in New Delhi for special clean-up of 100 iconic places across the country, starting with 10 in the first phase. Representatives from the following 10 places participated in the workshop, along with representatives from concerned state governments and municipal bodies.
1. Vaishno Devi: Jammu & Kashmir
2. Taj Mahal: Uttar Pradesh
3. Tirupati Temple: Andhra Pradesh
4. Golden Temple: Punjab
5. Ajmer Sharif: Rajasthan
6. Meenakshi Temple: Tamil Nadu
7. Kamakhya Temple: Assam
8. Jagannath Puri: Odisha
9. Manikarnika Ghat: Uttar Pradesh
10. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus: Maharashtra
On July 8, 2016, Day 1 of the workshop began with the inaugural address by the Minister, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar and Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Shri Parameswaran Iyer.
The Minister, in his inaugural address (at his first public event after assuming charge of the Ministry), highlighted the efficient solid waste management practice prevalent in ancient rural India, saying that we need to go back to our roots and learn “Swachhta” from good practices of the past. He added that Gandhiji worked for a Swachh Bharat and presented an example for all of us to emulate. He also spoke about the environment created by the leadership of the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, which has reawakened the nation to “Swachhta” as a value in society. With respect to the initiative for clean-up of iconic places across the country under Swachh Bharat Mission, he said that the attempt in the first phase with 10 iconic places was to arrive at models for cleanliness to be scaled to all 100 places and, hopefully, to set a global example.
This was followed by a presentation made by international experts in urban planning, cleanliness and sanitation from institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the World Bank and the Cities Alliance. They shared case studies of similar and successful international clean-up efforts from across the world, including Singapore, Ecuador, and Pakistan (clean-up of the Delhi Gate, Lahore).
This was followed by detailed presentations from the teams from 10 iconic places, which included:
a) Site characteristics, including Geography, area covered, footfall, etc.,
b) Current Status of Swachhta inside and outside the site,
c) Specific measures taken currently to keep the inside and outside clean, and
d) Proposed plan of action including timelines, key players, financial budgets, etc.
The teams from the 10 iconic locations were given feedback by the international experts and best practices were shared across teams.
On Day 2 of the workshop, July 9, 2016, the Ministry of Urban Development made a presentation on relevant Central government schemes related to the work of clean-up being undertaken under this initiative. They also assured all the teams that the Ministry would give this clean-up initiative full support from their side.
The teams next broke out for group activity to draw up concrete action plans for achieving model levels of cleanliness in their respective locations and sites, which were presented to Secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation and senior officials of Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Tourism. An agreed action plan was evolved for clean-up of all the 10 iconic places to achieve higher benchmarks of “Swachhta” at these iconic places at the earliest.
The participants who attended the workshop from the States included representatives from State Tourism departments, Municipal Commissioners, representatives from concerned district administrations, and chief executives of the Trust / local management / governing body of the iconic places. Senior officials from Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Ministry of Urban Development, Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Culture also participated actively in the workshop.
Senior officials from Public Sector Units that have been brought on board by three Ministries – Ministry of Petroleum, Ministry of Mines, and Ministry of Coal – at the request of the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, to undertake the sponsorship of the clean-up of these places as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility, also attended the workshop. These Public Sector Units are Northern Coal Fields Ltd (a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd), Hindustan Zinc Ltd, Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), Hindustan Petroleum, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL), National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO), and Oil India Ltd.
Courtesy – Press Information Bureau, Government of India