30 ‘swachh’ towns make it to top 100

30 ‘swachh’ towns make it to top 100

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 25

More than 30 towns and cities in Punjab have made it to the top 100 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the country in the latest ranking of the ‘Swachh Sarvekshan’, said Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.

He was addressing a regional workshop here on ‘Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities’ in Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh on Wednesday.

Sidhu said, “During the Swachh Sarvekshan in 2017, as many as 438 cities were examined on various parameters, including cleanliness. Punjab was among the lowest ranked. No city or town was within the first 100. A very big number was placed between 400 and 438.”

The minister said the Department of Local Government had taken a path-breaking initiative of de-centralising solid waste management systems. It was found to be the best way out of the current status of stuck-up projects in Amritsar, Pathankot, Patiala, Bathinda and other places.

Ajoy Sharma, CEO, Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company, said 32 cities of Punjab had received certification from the Quality Council of India (QCI) for coming out with flying colours on various criteria pertaining to making the environment open defecation-free and being tidy.