‘Plastic to be shunted out of UP from July 15’
Massive crackdown on use of polythene above 50 microns would give impetus to cleanliness campaign
LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath said here on Monday that from July 15, there would be a massive crackdown on the use of prohibited polythene above 50 microns in the state.
This crackdown would give impetus to the cleanliness campaign in the state, the chief minister said.
Speaking during the dedication of Urban Training & Research Centre & Local Bodies Directorate near Shaheed Path, Yogi also warned officials who had not been able to make their districts open defecation-free (ODF).
He said, “If we know how to felicitate performers, we also know to punish those officials who don’t perform. If the target of making the state ODF before September 30 is not met, strict action would be taken against officials concerned.”
He said implementation of the ODF policy was pathetic in the state.
Officials were not taking it seriously in urban areas, while things had improved in rural areas where 72 lakh toilets were constructed against a mere 5.35 lakh in the urban areas.
“Here, 3.15 lakh toilets are yet to be built in three months,” Yogi said.
“This time 4 cities are among the top 10 cleanest cities of India but things need to improve. UP has 653 local bodies, under which 4.5 crore people live. If we make cities clean, it would be for our own good. Cleanliness can check diseases like encephalitis which are transmitted because of unclean surroundings and contaminated water. We can save many lives in the state but we need to work with a team spirit,” he said.
The chief minister also expressed his unhappiness with divisional commissioners responsible for passing projects under smart city and AMRUT projects, saying except Varanasi, no project had been passed under smart city project, not even the state capital.
Yogi complimented Ghaziabad, Aligarh and Samthar (near Jhansi) for doing well in Swacch Bharat Mission.
The CM also lauded local bodies for replacing 6 lakh bulbs with LED lights, which saved power bills of Rs 110 crore.
He said , “Even the mayors are ill-informed about the replacement of street lights by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). A mayor came to me to say that there was a big scam in replacement of street lights with LED lights, but when I told him that the company had replaced the bulbs for free he was amazed. I told him the state government had not paid any money to EESL.”
The chief minister also called on municipal corporations to become self-reliant and generate more income instead on depending on the state government for payment of salaries.
Speaking on the occasion, minister of urban development Suresh Khanna said, “The loopholes in the laws against use of polythene have been plugged. So this time the ban on polythene would be comprehensive.”
“This time 4 cities of UP are among the top 100 cleanest cities of India. Next time all the 10 cities of the state would be among the top 100, he said, adding, “I have visited clean cities like Bhopal, Indore and Chandigarh. The difference between them and UP is their residents’ love for their city, dedication and spirit to keep them clean. In UP, despite a number of reminders, only Ghaziabad and Kanpur have been declared ODF while out of 653 local bodies, only 57 claimed to be ODF, but authorities found only 14 fit to be certified as ODF.”
He said solid waste management and water supply in the state were top priorities of the government.
He said the state government was committed to improve the income of local bodies and make them self-reliant .