Mechanism
Recently Chief Secretary, chaired a meeting of Rural Development Department (RDD) to review progress on implementation of Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) across the Union Territory.
He emphasized the importance of regular monitoring of community assets created by the Rural Sanitation Department. He directed the department to devise a robust mechanism for tracking the functional status of these assets including community sanitation complexes, compost pits, segregation sheds, soak pits and drainage facilities.
He instructed that ground level staff be tasked with uploading of geo-tagged photos and videos of these assets periodically to ensure updated information is readily available to the authorities.
He called for making budgetary provisions to establish Gobardhan units in all districts and stressed their optimal utilisation to benefit rural communities. He highlighted the need for a comprehensive Operations and Maintenance (O&M) policy to ensure sustainable management of community sanitation assets and encouraged active public participation in their upkeep. He stated that if these assets are made greatly beneficial for the public they would in turn find it interesting to adopt them for proper management.
He underscored the significance of establishing faecal sludge treatment facilities in various districts, deeming them crucial for maintaining clean and ambient rural surroundings. He also advocated creation of carbon-neutral panchayats across the Union Territory and urged the department to certify such initiatives to validate their impact.
He directed the department to further strengthen the IEC activities in the UT for affecting the much required behavioural change among the population. He advised for consistent promotion of SBM-G initiatives in the region. He told them to focus on disseminating success stories, raising awareness and ensuring regular engagement with stakeholders to sustain momentum of the mission thereby guaranteeing its success in the UT.
