Stressing that the country can’t be made clean without fixing the garbage problem in Delhi that has reached crisis proportion, Minister of Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri today invoked the pride of being a resident of the national capital to spur people into collective action for effective solid waste management.Shri Puri today participated in the ‘Swachhat Hi Sewa’ campaign at Bhikaji Cama Place in South Delhi by sweeping and collecting the litter and later addressed the people, sanitation workers and officials of the Ministry and South Delhi Municipal Corporation who undertook shramdan along with him. He also inaugurated modern litter pickers imported by South MCD.The Minister noted that being a citizen and resident of Delhi is a ‘matter of pride’ and is a unique privilege that brings several advantages in the form of better services and amenities not available in other cities. He quoted the example of Delhi Metro on which the central and State Governments incurred huge expenditure with more in the offing. Shri Puri said this pride would however, be punctured if Delhi is not made clean and the garbage issue was not addressed properly.
Urging the people of Delhi into effective action, Shri Puri said “I would like to invoke that pride of being residents of the national capital and shed lethargy and make due contribution to effective solid waste management so that we can overcome the garbage which is threatening to adversely impact the lives of all”.Shri Puri observed that the central government has accorded sanitation higher priority over even economic transformation given its importance in several ways. He said the intent, passion and energy with which Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has been piloting Swachh Bharat Mission has resulted in an unprecedented ‘individual connect’ with sanitation across the country. This has led to construction of about five crore toilets across the country including over 38 lakh in urban areas in a short span of three years.Stating that solid waste management in cities is the major challenges in urban areas over the next two years of the mission, Shri Puri stressed on the need to convert the ‘individual connect’ with sanitation demand into ‘social connect’ to ensure the success of the solid waste management chain through collective action. Noting that people have a better connect with immediate neighborhood, the Minister unveiled ‘My Home-My Neighborhood’ (Ghar Bi Saaf-Pados Bhi Saaf) campaign with the following six components:
1.Segregation of waste at source
2. Compost making from wet waste within the premises/neighborhood/area
3. Recycling of dry waste
4.Freeing the neighborhood from open defecation and open urination
5. Motivating the residents of neighborhood against throwing garbage in open spaces; and
6.Adopting a near by park or open place for collection and waste segregation.
Puri said this neighborhood action plan leads to substantial reduction in the quantum of solid waste sent to landfill besides enabling better performance of Waste-to –Compost and Waste-to-Energy plants. Neighborhood could be a residential housing society, a colony,mohalla, market area etc., he said. The Minister said this neighborhood action plan will be launched in all the cities and towns across the country on the occasion of the third anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission on the second of next month and appealed to the residents of Delhi to take the lead in making a success of it so that their pride is not punctured.Shri Puri watched a nukkad performance by the students of Malviya Nagar SDMC School on the causes and consequences of poor hygiene and the need for citizen participation in ensuring a Clean India. Appreciating the performance, the Minister encouraged the students by paying a cash of Rs.1,000.Shri Puri inspected the Bhikaji cama Place area and expressed concern over poor maintenance of buildings and urged the Municipal Commissioner of SDMC to take necessary action.Ms. Kamaljeet Sherawat, Mayor of South Delhi Municipal Corporation, Dr.Puneet Goyal, Commissioner of SDMC besides senior officials of the Ministry and SDMC and the public participated in shramdan.