Swachh competitions for Karnal villages soon
After Karnal secured a commendable third rank in the country in the Swachh Survekshan 2024, a new initiative of holding Swachhata competitions among villages in the district will be rolled out soon. This was stated by Union Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs and Karnal MP Manohar Lal Khattar.
“Just as cities are ranked under Swachh Survekshan for cleanliness, villages across Karnal will now be assessed and rewarded based on their efforts towards cleanliness, hygiene and environmental sustainability,” said Khattar on the sidelines of the District Development Coordination and Monitoring Committee (DDCMC–DISHA) meeting at the mini-secretariat on late Friday evening.
During the meeting, Khattar directed officials to organise village-level cleanliness competitions under the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin). “A district-level competition should be held in Karnal to reward cleanest villages. Such competitions should be conducted annually to bring about visible improvements in rural sanitation,” said the Union Minister.
He reviewed 36 schemes related to various departments and issued necessary directions. Khattar also announced development works worth Rs 1 crore each in all five assembly constituencies of the district under the MPLAD scheme.
He instructed officials to ensure that families earning less than Rs 1 lakh annually, as per the Parivar Pehchan Patra, must benefit from the Central schemes for rural areas. He emphasised setting targets to raise their income levels and identifying women beneficiaries among them to help them become ‘Lakhpati Didis’.
During the review of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme, the Union Minister stressed the need for stringent action against illegal ultrasound centres and abortion rackets. He proposed the formation of confidential teams to identify and act against violators. Awareness campaigns should be launched by the Women and Child Development Department to educate rural communities, he added.
The issue of Birbarwala village in the Nilokheri Assembly segment was also raised during the meeting. The village land is under state ownership, but property IDs have already been generated. The Minister suggested that the state government be requested to transfer land ownership to the villagers at collector rates to avoid inconvenience.
Khattar also reviewed the MGNREGA scheme and called for greater utilisation of its provisions in government works to ensure employment guarantees for more rural workers.
Regarding the Supplementary Nutrition Programme, he sought details of the budget received and utilised this year and emphasised the need for strict monitoring mechanisms for nutrition delivery.
Top performers to ‘adopt’ low scorers: Khattar
Union Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar has announced a new model to improve the Swachhata rankings of cities of the state, wherein the top-ranked three cities in Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 will adopt cities with the lowest rankings. He announced the initiative while addressing a gathering at the Safari Mitra Samman Samaroh held at the Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College auditorium here on Saturday.
The programme was organised to celebrate Karnal Municipal Corporation being honoured by President Droupadi Murmu for its cleanliness rankings under the survey.
Khattar said cities ranked the highest would be paired with lower-ranked cities to guide the latter by offering actionable suggestions to improve sanitation.
Cleanliness rankings thereafter will be based on the combined performance of both cities in a pair.
“Only if both cities improve together will the top-ranked city maintain its position,” he said. The initiative aimed to bring all cities at par with national cleanliness standards, and contribute to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of making India a developed nation by 2027, he added.
Congratulating sanitation workers, officials, and public representatives for Karnal’s achievement, Khattar announced a reward of Rs 5,000 each for 1,380 sanitation workers.
He said public awareness and proper waste segregation were key to cleanliness.
The minister encouraged ‘safai mitras’ to focus on their children’s education, stating that even children from underprivileged families could become officers in this day and age.
Haryana Tribune