All ULBs to be garbage-free cities: Odisha CM

Surjit Kumar Dhal, Bhubaneswar, Aug 31 : Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Saturday laid emphasis on providing  good services to the citizens by the local self governments.The main aim of the Local Self Government is to provide good services to the citizens. Urban management has become a challenging job these days. But if we keep the people at the centre of our initiative and follow the principle of 5Ts in letter and spirit, we would be able to achieve the transformation which we want our citizens to experience,” he said addressing a special function at the Lok Seva Bhawan on the occasion of Local Self Government Day.

Patnaik said, “The application of 5T Mantra has been done successfully in all these activities. I very much thank the Urban Development Department for having taken initiative for all these activities within one month.”The Chief Minister said the State Government aims at making all the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the State garbage free within the next one year. “It’s also a very good effort to have involved the women in these programmes,” he added.

“Today Ward Offices were inaugurated in all the wards under Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC). In addition to it, work also began on Micro Composting Centres (MCCs) for solid waste management,” he announced adding, the street vendors of Cyclone FANI-affected Puri are also being provided with online assistance from Saturday. “I’m extremely happy for this. Fast Track Building Plan Approval facility also started for Bhubaneswar today,” he said. On the occasion Patnaik inaugurated a slew of projects for the benefits of the citizens.

As many as 66 Ward Offices and Ward Office inside Integrated Public Service Centre at Saheed Nagar under the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) jurisdiction. The Ward Office will act as a medium for easy and fast citizen-centric services. It will be managed by a Ward Officer with the cooperation of other employees. The aim and objective of Ward Office is to supervise and analyze sanitation, drainage and solid waste treatment.The Chief Minister also inaugurated 43 Micro Composting Centres (MCCs) for the BMC. This is in pursuance of the Solid Waste Management Rules-2016 for which the Housing & Urban Development (H&UD) Department of Odisha Government has been laying stress on the vital exercises basing on its 5T Mantra.