Admin gears up for plantation drives to mark ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’

New Delhi, July 29: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today held a meeting to chalk out an extensive program for celebration of 15-days long ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’ to be culminated on Independence Day across the UT.
Besides the Administrative Secretaries the meeting was attended by Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir/Jammu; Deputy Commissioners; concerned Heads of Departments (HoDs); Principals of Medical Colleges besides senior officers from the other Department.
Outstation officers participated in the meeting through video conferencing.
During this meeting the Chief Secretary enjoined upon the Divisional & District administrations to encourage participation of all in this people-centric two weeks long programme.
He stressed on showing exemplary coordination in conducting of different activities that are part of ‘Swachhta Pakhwada’. He directed for creation of exclusive portal for uploading all these activities to be carried out by respective Departments and Deputy Commissioners with tangible outcomes to be assessed at its culmination.
He advised the concerned Divisional administrations to evaluate the action plans of their districts and extend suggestions/assistance to them to make these better or to organise these plans in a more befitting manner. He stressed on eliminating the chances of duplication of activities on part of Departments and DCs.
Dulloo took this occasion to hear from the respective Administrative Secretaries and Deputy Commissioners about the calendar of activities they have scheduled for these 15 days right from the Ist of August. He asked each of them to make a dedicated Nodal Officer for each activity planned along with devising the specific strategy to implement it smoothly on ground.
He underscored the need of taking these swachhta and plantation drives to the nook and corner of J&K. He asked for making the ‘Ek Ped Shahidon Ke Naam’ program a huge success. He called upon the Forest Department to ensure availability of plantation materials in each district for holding these activities comfortably there.
About the activities to be carried out in both urban and rural areas, it was given out by the concerned officers that massive plantation and cleanliness drives would be undertaken by different Departments and in each District.
The Housing & Urban Development Department (H&UDD) and Rural Development Department (RDD) are going to be the nodal departments to implement the programs in urban and rural areas respectively besides the Forest Department would provide the plantation material from their nurseries.
The Forest Department, as revealed in the meeting, would be organising as many as 600 events as part of ‘Ek Ped Shahidon ke Naam’ across the districts here. It would also carry out cleanliness of Forest, Wildlife areas and the public spaces under their possession.
The Deputy Commissioners divulged plethora of activities to be organised in their districts for all these 15 days. They made out that in coordination with concerned Departments they are going to hold plantation drives all across their districts with focus on ‘Ek Ped Shahidon Ke Naam’ and ‘Ek Ped Maa ke Naam’ campaigns.
They also informed the meeting about the IEC activities for creating awareness among masses about the advantages of personal or community hygiene. It was further revealed that cleanliness drives would be carried out at waste hotshots like bus stands, sports fields, markets etc.
It was added that specific drives would be carried out to ensure cleanliness of educational institutions, government office campuses, religious places, tourist destinations, water bodies or other public properties in consultation with NGOs and civil society members.
Moreover the meeting was apprised that besides carrying sustained IEC activities, Swachhta pledges would be undertaken by the participants at each location of the event. It was given out that debates, discussions, quizzes, painting competitions and sporting activities by students would be held to commemorate this week in our educational institutions.
As part of creating awareness about the hazards of ‘single use plastic’ the RDD is implementing ‘Platic Lao Thela le Jao’ campaign in different districts where people can deposit their plastic waste for proper disposal and take back a biodegradable bag for use at home, as was informed during this meeting.