One-year-old cleanliness drive to be speeded up!

Although, both Jha and Chavan, have claimed that the drive was “60 per cent successful,” not many Puneites would buy their arguments.

Even the senior officers from the civic sanitation wing admit that the drive was a failure, though officially, the administration rates it as one of its major successes during the year!

Justifying the claim, the administration points out that following the launching of the drive the daily garbage collection has shot up by 150 tons. A ward wise timetable for lifting of garbage has came into force. Also, the sanitation wing has been strengthened with 900 new containers, 70 dumper placers (garbage lifting vehicles), 1,000 wheel barrows and incinerators.

Vermiculture projects are being implemented at 200 housing societies and 15 municipal gardens. Public toilet blocks in all municipal wards have been repaired. And, last but not least, during the year a total fine of Rs. 40 lakh has been recovered from those littering the city. “I admit that we have not been able to outdo Surat. But, we have been able to make people aware about cleanliness,” Chavan had said at a recent press briefing.

Additional Municipal Commissioner Deepak Kapoor is now contemplating to speed up the drive.

Kapoor admitted that the drive which had got off to a flying start failed to garner the required support from citizens as well as the civic officers and PMC staff. The administration failed to implement some of its plans, he said stressing that the ambitious project for power generation through garbage recycling at Paud Road garbage depot was terminated before it could be started.

“However, the drive needs to be continued. More efforts would be made to seek cooperation from citizens. This is not a government programme. It is a people’s movement. The drive would be successful only if they participate in it,” he said.