Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the cities of the State should become engines of the State. The cities of the State should lead in areas including infrastructure, pure drinking water, waste management, sewage management and environment protection.
Better arrangements should be made for the poor. Our cities should be developed in such a manner that the world has a second look. Chief Minister Chouhan was addressing a workshop on Swachh Sarvekshan -2018 ‘Nagron ko swachh banane ki pahal’ on Thursday.
Chouhan awarded Mayor-Chairmen, Commissioner and other officials of the urban bodies for their outstanding performance in Swachh Sarvekshan – 2017.
Chouhan said that each city in the state has its own specialty. Efforts should be made so that the identity of the city can be linked to the pride of the public. Citizens should be made aware of the misuse of polythene to save the environment.
Alternatives of polythene should be prepared in cities. We should strive a better Earth for our future generations. Saplings should be planted and rivers should be kept clean. An amount of `85 thousand crores would be spent for urban development in the coming three years. Pure drinking water will be arranged in all 378 cities under Urban Drinking Water Scheme. 26 clusters have been made for waste management in the state. Now bio fertilizer and electricity would be created from the cities’ waste.
Chouhan said that the campaign ‘Mera Pran-Mera Shahar Number Ek’ will be restarted in all the cities of the State. Cleanliness should be maintained in every street and locality of the cities. The campaign will be started from coming September 17- which happens to be birthday of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A mission should be launched so that cleanliness becomes a part of our lives. People should be made aware of its importance. Hawkers’ corner should be constructed for small vendors in cities and no recoveries will be made from them in the urban areas. A campaign against corruption should be launched in all urban bodies. Arrangements of public services should be simplified.
Urban Administration and Development Minister Maya Singh said that cleanliness is the topmost priority of the State Government. The goal is to provide better services to people as it is the citizens who evaluate the cleanliness survey.
He lauded the efforts made by all the urban bodies and said that he expected better results in the next Swachh Survey -2018.
Chouhan felicitated Mayor-Chairmen, Commissioner-Chief Municipal Officers and nodal officers appointed from the Directorate from the urban bodies for their outstanding performance in Swachh Survey-2017 with medals and trophies at a programme. Chouhan felicitated Mayor-Chairmen, Commissioner-Chief Municipal Officers of Nagar Nigam Indore, Bhopal, Ujjain, Nagar Palika Khargone, Nagar Nigam Jabalpur, Sagar, Katni, Gwalior, Nagar Palika Omkareshwar, Nagar Nigam Rewa, Ratlam, Singrauli, Chhindwada, Nagar Palika Sehore, Nagar Nigam Dewas, Nagar Palika Hoshangabad, Pithampur, Nagar Nigam Khandwa, Nagar Palika Mandsaur, Nagar Nigam Satna, Nagar Palika Betul and Chhatarpur.
Earlier, Indore Mayor Malini Goud and Betul Municipal Chairman Alkesh Arya welcomed the Chief Minister. Joint Secretary of Union Ministry for Urban Development VK Jindal along with representatives of urban bodies from all over the state were present. Director of Urban Cleanliness Mission Manju Sharma proposed the vote of thanks.