Karnal Municipal Corporation steps up cleanliness drive

The Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) Commissioner, Dr Vaishali Sharma, on Monday urged officials to ensure all government and private offices in the district are declared zero-waste under the ongoing “Haryana Shehr Swachhta Abhiyan - 2025”. She emphasised the need for systematic disposal of outdated and unused records and called for the campaign to be celebrated like a festival to encourage mass participation.

Presiding over a review meeting of the sanitation campaign at the Mini Secretariat auditorium, Dr Sharma said the drive would continue until November 25, under the theme “Har Mohalla, Har Gali, Har Makan – Swachh Haryana Ki Pehchaan.” She said the initiative extends beyond basic cleanliness and is aimed at becoming a people’s movement to create a cleaner and more attractive city.

She directed all departments to ensure the cleanliness and beautification of their premises, including government offices, educational institutions, hospitals, banks, mandis and private workplaces. The District Education Officer was asked to involve all schools and colleges in awareness programmes, while officials were instructed to strictly enforce penalties against the use of single-use plastics. The district administration has set a target to make Karnal plastic-free within three months.

Dr Sharma also directed mandi secretaries to maintain strict hygiene in grain markets and penalise those using polythene. All departments must submit daily progress reports of cleanliness activities along with geo-tagged photographs to the Municipal Corporation.