PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Dehradun
The Dehradun and Haridwar have been included among 50 cities selected under the Centre’s PRAGATI-50 initiative to develop model cities for improved cleanliness and waste management. The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal launched the initiative in New Delhi on Tuesday. The 50 cities, spread across 24 states, will be monitored through key performance indicators (KPIs), technology-enabled monitoring and regular reviews under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0.
The initiative will focus on visible cleanliness, solid waste management, used water management, sanitation and greater citizen participation. Lal said that the selected cities include major urban centres, cities of cultural importance, tourism destinations and economic centres. He said that he would personally chair review meetings every two months to track their progress.
A PRAGATI-like digital review mechanism has also been established on the Swachhata Portal. The ministry officials will be assigned specific cities for regular supervision and handholding.
The Centre has asked States and urban local bodies to prepare micro-level action plans and implement them effectively. The initiative aims to help cities move towards the goal of Garbage Free Cities and emerge as models for other urban centres.
As part of the programme, the Centre also launched a Swachh Bharat Test Bed and Innovation Centre in Durgapur with CSIR-CMERI, onboarded 13 startups under the third startup cohort with IIT Kanpur and launched a dedicated WhatsApp channel for citizens to lodge sanitation complaints.
