Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s “hands-on” approach to improve the level of civic sanitation in Dehradun has continued to give rise to questions within the Congress party organisation and local administration.
On the weekend the CM too briefly participated in the cleaning drive being conducted by the police on his directions, donning a mask covering his mouth and nose while using a spade to remove sludge from an open drain at a locality in town.
Active participation by the CM in cleaning drives has elicited mixed reactions with some welcoming it as an effective way of motivating the public towards fulfilling its role in maintaining sanitation. On the other hand, critics have on more than one occasion opined that such actions of the CMs appear to be aimed at scoring political points by presenting a picture of an “active” CM whereas the CM should have expedited resource allocation and procedures to enable the Dehradun municipal corporation maintain the desired level of civic sanitation.
On the CM’s directions, the police is undertaking the cleaning drive. On Sunday, Rawat participated in the cleaning drive conducted at Darbhanga colony at Bhandaribagh. The CM himself participated in the cleaning work here on Sunday using a spade and other tools to clean sludge out of open drains.
It will be recalled that earlier too, the CM had participated in the sanitation drive conducted on his instructions by the police in Valmiki Basti along Kanwali Road on September 12. Interestingly, apart from Cabinet Minister and Dharmpur MlA Dinesh Aggarwal, the Dehradun Mayor Vinod Chamoli was also among those present during the cleaning drive on Sunday.
Political analysts point out that when the CM had participated in a similar cleaning drive earlier on September 12, the Dehradun mayor had then termed the CM’s actions farcical while also stressing that that it was not the CM’s task to undertake cleaning work.
It is worth mentioning here that the Mayor has often criticised successive State Governments for not taking necessary measures to empower urban local bodies enabling them to maintain civic sanitation as desired. However, this time, Chamoli too was seen alongside the CM during his participation in the cleaning drive.
Though the Chief Minister’s actions may be viewed as proactive by some, there are others who aver that the CM having to resort to taking up cleaning work himself presents the picture of a resource-starved municipal and associated apparatus failing to discharge even their basic responsibilities while the general public continues to blame the authorities for deteriorated sanitation level.