Lieutenant Governor Shri Manoj Sinha today launched the 15-day long Swachhta Pakhwada ‘The Shuchita Sangram’ campaign, at Srinagar. At the opening ceremony of the campaign, the Lt Governor felicitated Safaimitras and lauded the significant contribution of Sanitation workers, citizens and all other stakeholders in Swachhta Abhiyan.
“Swachhta Pakhwada is not just a campaign, it is a movement that embodies the spirit of a clean and healthy India which is inspired by the vision of Pujya Bapu and aims to instil a sense of responsibility and commitment towards maintaining cleanliness in our surroundings,” the Lt Governor said.
Highlighting cleanliness drives planned under Swachhta Pakhwada, the Lt Governor said the major thrust during the campaign will be on the cleanliness of 186 identified tourist places in the UT, jointly by the Department of Rural Development, Housing & Urban Development and Tourism Department.
The Lt Governor emphasised on capacity building of Panchayat Secretaries and village-level workers and IEC campaign towards behaviour change for success of the mission.He directed the officials to focus on public awareness, particularly among students, about waste management, segregation, and its environmental impact.
The Lt Governor further stressed on encouraging community participation through initiatives like Swachhta Banks and compost-making at household level.Speaking on the exceptional work done by Jammu Kashmir in Swachh Bharat Mission (G), the Lt Governor said the biggest challenge now is to sustain the efforts and maintain the infrastructures that have been created to ensure that J&K achieve the cleanest UT rank in the country.
On the occasion, the Lt Governor gave four resolutions to the citizens of Jammu Kashmir- Villages & Wards should be Clean, Healthy, Green and there should be sufficient water in our Villages & Wards.He appealed to the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir to participate enthusiastically in the Swachhta Pakhwada and work towards promoting the use of safe sanitation practices and ensuring proper disposal of liquid and solid waste.
It is our collective responsibility that the home we live in, the office we work in, and our places of worship are clean, the Lt Governor said.There must be healthy competition in every Panchayat to achieve the goal of clean and green village and all Panchayats should lay special emphasis on innovative solutions to address the local challenges, he added.
The Lt Governor also highlighted the dedicated measures taken by the UT Administration, to realise Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of Swachh Bharat.This year, 1000 community sanitary complexes will be built in rural areas by the Rural Sanitation department which will prove to be a milestone for the health and overall well-being of the citizens, he said.
The occasion witnessed the launch of series of initiatives by the Lt Governor including Shuchitasangram.in website for information and monitoring of Swachhta Pakhwada activities, signature campaign on Swachhta Pledge, Annual Implementation Plan FY 2024-25 under SBM(G), comic book on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and a 6-week training program for Panchayat Secretaries.
The Lt Governor also inaugurated various projects under SBM(G) and flagged off ‘Swachhta Karwaan’ under Swachhta Pakhwada. In presence of Lt Governor, Rural Sanitation and Agriculture Department inked a Memorandum of Understanding for marketing of compost.
At the outset, the Lt Governor planted a tree sapling under the ‘Ek Ped Shaheedon ke Naam’ campaign. He also visited the Swachhta Exhibition highlighting innovative measures adopted by the Rural Development Department and interacted with students participating in Painting/Drawing competition on Swachhta.
Swachhta Pledge in schools, colleges and offices; cleanliness drives at bus stands, railway stations and other public & market places; orientation programs and health camps for sanitation workers and Swachhata Gram Sabhas will also be organized during the Swachhta Pakhwada.
Sh Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to Lt Governor; Sh Shaleen Kabra, Additional Chief Secretary, Jal Shakti; Sh Dheeraj Gupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Forest, Ecology & Environment; Ms Mandeep Kaur, Commissioner Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department; Dr Shahid Iqbal Choudhary, Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj; Ms Anu Malhotra, Director General, Rural Sanitation, senior Officials, sanitation workers and various stakeholders were present on the occasion.