With a view to making Gujarat one of the cleanest States in the country, the Gujarat Government is mulling to levy fines for littering at public places in urban and semi-urban areas of the State.
“We are seriously mulling levying fines for littering in all Municipal Corporations, municipalities and Taluka level towns,” said Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday during a function organised at Sanand town as part of Environment Cleanliness Week, coinciding with World Environment Day. Ahead of the function Rupani cleansed the roads at industrial areas of the town. The campaign is being observed from June 5th to 11th.
The Chief Minister also launched Sanand Municipality’s cleanliness campaign after offering floral tributes at Babasaheb Ambedkar’s statue near the Bus Station. Speaking on the occasion, he said the government is considering levying fines for littering at public places of 400-odd urban areas in the state. He also distributed 51,000 jute bags form a part of creating awareness.
He praised the Ahmedabad district administration for distributing 8,000 dustbins. Since Sanand is already globally known as an auto hub, he wished the message of cleanliness campaign started from Sanand should reach far and wide. Rupani further said that cleanliness should be a matter of habit. He said that Gujarat leads in implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Swatchh Bharat Mission in the country by Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary in 2019. While plastic is known to be a product of development, he said, it should be judiciously used because plastic of less than 50 micron is known to spoil soil and water, pollute environment, and can spread diseases, too.
Meanwhile CM Rupani also met member of royal family of erstwhile Sanand state Jayshivsinh Vaghela and others in his family at their heritage fort ‘Darbargadh’ and briefed them about the achievements of the Central Government’s welfare schemes under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.