Venkaiah Naidu felicitates municipality workers, says Swachh Bharat should be a ‘jan andolan’

Nila Boro from Guwahati Municipal Corporation, T Venkataiah from Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation and B Nagaraj from Coimbatore Municipal Corporation were honoured at the event.

He also complimented individuals who went out of their way to build toilets or ensure sanitation in their villages, towns and cities under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. He especially mentioned 104-year-old Kunwar Bai of Assam who sold her goats in order to build a toilet. He even felicitated Resident Welfare Associations who have contributed to the Swachh Bharat Mission. DLF Garden City in Indore and Rajhans Zion Housing Society in Surat received a special mention.

Artists like Dhrashti Dhami, Shakshi Tanwar, Jennifer Winget, and Rashmi Desai were also congratulated for their support and contribution for the promotion of Swachh Survekshan 2017.

At the event, he also launched three books – the Swachh Bharat Idea book, which is a complete guide on the do-it-yourself tips for citizens & stakeholders participating in Swachh Bharat Mission, the Swachh Survekshan 2017, which is a guide book for urban local bodies responsible for the sanitation and cleanliness of the cities, Municipal Solid Waste Management Manual, again for urban local bodies participating in Swachh Survekshan 2017.

In a speech following the felicitation and the launch, the minister encouraged urban local bodies and the residents of cities to participate in Swachh Survekashan 2017 more actively. “There are people who want to work but we must motivate them. People’s cities win and they think how did their city win, they always see it dirty. That’s why the participation of the people in the survekshan is also important,” he said.

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu at the National Media Center for the launch of Swachh Bharat Survekshan 2017. (Image: Twitter/@PIB_India)

He launched the Swachh Mobile app and the Swachh Helpline. All urban local bodies are mapped on the app and residents who find an unsanitary area can complaint on the app, he said. Adequate action will be taken within a stipulated period of time.

He also announced the launch of a self-assessment tool along with the Swachh Bharat Survekashan guide book for 500 urban local bodies to monitor their progress from time to time for the next six months. “To make progress we need to know where do we stand, only then we can move ahead,” he said.

The minister announced the launch of the scheme ‘Waste to Energy’ and said that it will be made compulsory for cities to use waste generated energy. “We aim to increase the consumption of waste energy to 411 megawatt by 2018, as opposed 53 megawatt today. Amitabh Bachchan has agreed to promote the Waste to Compost scheme,” he said.

Talking about the Swachh Bharat Mission, Naidu said it is not just a scheme but is a “a jan andolan”, as the Prime Minister Narendra Modi says. “That is why we are launching the Swachh mobile app and Swachh helpline, to increase participating of people,” he said.

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He also encouraged the media to report the positive incidents that happen in the cities regarding development. “The media should report aggrieved states and it is a good thing but it should also report the good things happening so that other people get encouraged,” he said, adding, “This is no longer the ear of door darshan, we have so many newspapers and news channels, all multi-lingual. We must use them to spread awareness about the developments happening in the country.”

He also announced that 114 cities have reported that they are open-defecation free. “Real development is having a house, television, fridge, scooter, car and all these amenities but how real will be this development if our citizens still defecate in the open. Three states – Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala have committed to be 100% Open Defecation Free by March next year,” he said.

“We should focus on MODI – making of developed India. You can’t develop India without developing yourself. Wealth has no meaning if there is no health. It’s like putting a laddoo in front of a sugar patient. You suffer physically and mentally,” he quipped.

As the Swachh Survekshan 2017 begins today, he urged people to participate in great numbers to make the country clean. “It’s an important day for us as the Rio Olympics begin today and we convey our best wishes to all athletes participating. But there is another Olympics in our country, which is to make India open defecation free. We should earn gold medals in this sphere also,” he concluded.