In order to make Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship Swachh Bharat Mission successful, the government is set to launch a cleanliness awareness campaign in the National Capital Region (NCR) by roping in youth for this pilot engagement exercise.
“The Ministry of Urban Development will soon launch an ‘Asli Tarakki’ (real development) campaign in the six cities of the NCR with 450 select youth with communication skills and leadership qualities as lead motivators to promote awareness about the need for sanitation,’’ an official statement said.
The Ministry has signed an MoU with Nehru Yuvak Kendra under which the latter will deploy 50 youth for 52 days in each of the five municipal areas of Delhi, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Noida.
The pilot engagement exercise will cost ₹4.70 crore.
The youth will be selected during a two-day orientation workshop and will be given further training to undertake awareness and motivational campaigns through elocution, cultural performances, nukkad nataks etc.
They will also encourage citizens to give feedback on different components of ‘Swachh Survekshan-2017’ launched earlier this month, encourage people to take Swachh Bharat Pledge for a clean India and to inform targeted beneficiaries about the government support for building individual, community and public toilets.
“Moreover, four chariots will be deployed in each of the nine municipal areas with banners and posters on sanitation , public address system for addressing people on key issues with facilities for showing audio-visual films and for distribution of information, education and communication material,’’ the Ministry said.
The Swachh Bharat Mission envisages construction of 1.04 crore individual household toilets in all the 4,041 statutory cities and towns besides 5.08 lakh community and public toilets and 100 per cent door-to- door collection and scientific disposal of solid waste at a cost of ₹ 62,009 crore.
Since the mission’s launch on October 2, 2014, construction of 21 lakh household individual toilets has been completed and construction of another 21 lakh toilets is in progress, Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu had told reporters on August 6 at the launch of cleanliness survey.