Venkaiah Naidu to meet municipal commissioners

Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu will Monday interact with municipal commissioners of cities with population of more than a lakh, as the government launches a series of "consultative workshops" for top civic officials.

The first such workshop for municipal commissioners will be held in Hyderabad Monday for the southern states, before the government launches its new initiatives on urban development and housing.

Municipal commissioners from over 70 cities and officials of urban development departments from the five southern states - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh - and the union territory of Puducherry will attend the first workshop, a government statement said Sunday.

"Implementation issues pertaining to the schemes viz., Swachh Bharat Mission, urban renewal of 500 cities/towns, housing for all by 2022, skill development and self-employment of urban poor under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana and capacity building of urban local bodies will be discussed in detail," it said.

During the workshop, Naidu will also nominate nine 'Swachh Bharat' ambassadors each from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.