“Har ghar ke chuhle ke piche rajniti ki jaye, yeh mujhe gwara nahin” (I do not like politics to enter in every kitchen) said Virbhadra Singh, adding that as far as possible the people should select their Panchayats representatives unanimously, and only if, there was no consensus on the selection of the candidate, voting should be done.
Panchayats were playing important role in development and has been an important part of the Constitution, he said, adding that since long Panchayats were involved in settling minor disputes in villages but with the passage of time they were given a Constitutional status with more powers to ensure upliftment of the people of the rural areas.
Announcing the launching of the month long Special Sanitation Campaign throughout the State till 31st October, Chief Minister said that it would be carried keeping in view the targets as set under ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ to make every Panchayat and local bodies ‘Green and Clean’ and sanitation free.
Community participation in achieving total sanitation is playing significant role in creating awareness amongst the people to adopt measures of cleanliness and to make Himachal a better place to live in, he said.
Exhorting the Panchayat representatives and those of Urban local Bodies and NGOs, Virbhadra Singh said that under this campaign, they should create awareness amongst the masses and take the campaign to the far- flung areas of the State convincing the rural populace about the benefits of construction of toilets and its uses to make their villages total Open Defecation Free (ODF).
The Government is committed to achieve the motto of ‘Swachh Himachal, Swasth Himachal’ (clean and healthy Himachal) as besides assuring cleanliness it also serves the purpose of social security and safety of women and confidence. He said that as per the provision of Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, Panchayats were bound to maintain cleanliness at all costs.
“I am pleased to notice changes in the society and the way the people have changed their mindset towards adopting sanitation campaigns and awareness programmes ensuring that their surroundings were neat and clean.” said the Chief Minister.
As a step towards motivating the children and the society as a whole, the State Government has started ‘School Swachayata Puraskars’ and ‘Mahila Mandal Protsahan Yojna’, besides ‘Rajya Protsahan Yojna’ for achieving the objectives of sanitation campaigns during its earlier tenure in 2005-06, said Virbhadra Singh adding that every year the State Government was spending a sum of rupees four crore on cleanliness campaigns and to make such campaigns a success. He said that the State Government had also empowered Panchayats to look after the sanitation activities.
He also distributed the prizes to the various Panchayat representatives present on the occasion with Nirmal Gram Puraskar and Sampooran Swachayata Abhiyan. He congratulated the Panchayat representatives for winning the awards and urged them to carry on this mission in times to come. The other Panchayats which were not in the list of awardees should also work hard, he said.
The Chief Minister also evinced keen interest in the exhibition set up by the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department in which various NGO’s from as far as Chamba, Kangra, Mandi and other districts had showcased their local products and had displayed the modern techniques for running and construction of toilets in rural areas and other bio-degradable products.
The BDOs Association presented a cheque of Rs. 1.51lakh to Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh towards Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister, Anil Sharma welcomed the Chief Minister to the function and also honoured him and other distinguished guests on the occasion. Speaking on the occasion, he said that Sanitation Mission was the biggest programme being implemented in the State and the PR representatives shoulder their responsibility with great zeal to take Himachal tread towards the Nirmal State. He said that it was a difficult task to dispose of both solid and liquid waste, but the implementing agencies achieved their targets in the larger interest of the State. He thanked the Chief Minister for honouring the occasion.
Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Onkar Chand Sharma, while welcoming the Chief Minister said that there were as many as 21 Panchayats getting the Nirmal Gram awards as were notified by Union government in 2013-14 and similarly 198 Panchayats of various Districts, Sub-Divisions and Blocks were presented the awards under Total Sanitation Campaign. He also detailed about other activities of the department.
Chief Parliamentary Secretaries, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal and Sohan Lal, Director, RD&PR, Dr. Ajay Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, Shimla Dinesh Malhotra were also present on the occasion amongst Panchayati Raj representatives from all over the State.
Post a Comment