Panel on Swachh Bharat to seek inputs from states

A committee of chief ministers to boost the government’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’ has decided to seek inputs from states on the best practices adopted by them. The committee, under the chairmanship of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, will also arrive at the financial requirements of the mammoth programme.

The panel, which held its first meeting on Thursday, will submit a report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by the end of June. The committee has constituted a working group under National Institution for Transforming India Aayog Chief Executive Sindhushree Khullar to prepare a draft report, after seeking inputs from states and various experts. It will also suggest ways in which the private sector could be roped in and a permanent institutional mechanism put in place.

“The sub group will recommend measures for technological support for different components of the Abhiyaan, including solid and liquid waste management in rural and urban areas. It will examine models for private sector participation in the Abhiyaan and suggest ways for substantial improvement in the participation of the private sector and civil society organisations,” said an official statement.

After the meeting, Naidu told reporters the panel would hold two-three meetings and undertake field visits before preparing its report. Apart from Naidu, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah attended Thursday’s meeting. It is expected the panel will again meet in Chandigarh next month.

According to its term of reference, the panel has to examine the financial requirements for comprehensive implementation of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan and suggest measures for meeting its budgetary needs.

The Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2 last year, aims to rid India of open defecation by 2019, the 150th birth anniversary year of Mahatma Gandhi.