To motivate all stakeholders in the State’s rural areas to participate in the cleanliness drive of villages, Punjab Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Razia Sultana on Friday launched ‘My Village My Pride’ Campaign under the aegis of Mission Swachh and Tandrust Punjab from August 1 to 31.
Sultana, after formally launching the ‘Swachh Survekshan Grameen-2018’ and ‘My Village My Pride’ campaign, also announced special prizes, amounting to Rs 1.88 crore, for cleanest village, school, anganwari and health center in each district. Prizes were also announced for the best ‘Swachhta Champions’ in all districts.
She said that selection of prize winners will be done by an independent committee headed by the Deputy Commissioners of the districts and prizes will be conferred on October 2, 2018.
As a part of the campaign, the Minister also launched a ‘Swachh’ mobile application which the citizens can download and give feedback on open defecation, demand a toilet if eligible and register activities related to cleanliness drives in their village with photographs.
“It is only the state of Punjab which is encouraging citizens to give direct feedback on sanitation, so that the state’s goal of making Punjab a ‘Swachh and Tandrust State’ can be achieved with people’s participation,” she said.
She said: “Punjab has always been on the forefront in every sphere of life and on all parameters of human development and we will surely achieve distinction in the swachhta survekshan being conducted by the Centre throughout the country, on the basis of quantitative and qualitative sanitation parameters.”
The Minister informed that the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) has commissioned ‘Swachh Survekshan Grameen 2018’ through an independent survey agency to develop ranking of all districts and states across India on the basis of quantitative and qualitative sanitation parameters.
“This ranking will be based on a comprehensive set of parameters including district level surveys of public places like schools, anganwaris, primary health centres, haat bazars, Panchayat, citizens suggestions on swachhta and infrastructure development for sanitation. The top performing states and districts will be awarded on October 2, 2018, by the Central Government,” she added.
Sultana said that Punjab has already done commendable work for the behaviourable change of the rural population as far as sanitation is considered. “All the Panchaytas in the state of Punjab have self declared their villages ‘Open Defecation Free’,” she said while appealing to the citizen to actively take part in this pious mission of swachhta and keep their villages neat and clean.