Prepare master plans for every village through Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to ensure cleanliness and make use of appropriate technologies for management of solid and liquid waste in rural areas, said Dr. Raguvansh Prasad Singh, Rural Development Minister while inaugurating in New Delhi, a one-day National Workshop on Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) in rural areas under the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC), organized by Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, Deptt. of Drinking Water Supply in the Ministry of Rural Development.

The Minister also said that efforts should be made for making at least one Panchayat in every block in the country ready to become eligible for the Nirmal Gram Puraskar in 2007, an incentive scheme launched in 2003 for eliminating the practice of open defecation and promoting sanitation and hygiene in rural areas. He stressed the need for creating greater awareness at the grass root level for transformation of rural areas into Nirmal Bharat improving the quality of life of rural people. People in rural areas have concepts of waste management at the household level and they regularly follow some practices to keep their houses clean but there is requirement for putting into use those concepts at the community level and he underscored the role of media, PRIs and NGOs other than Government machinery in this regard to make the TSC a success all over the country.

The Minister asked the representatives from different States to make best use of the 10 per cent funds allotted under TSC for SLWM and hoped that the experts participating in the workshop would be able to come out with suitable guidelines for implementation of the programme at the village level.

Secretary, Drinking Water Supply, Smt. Sunila Basant in her key note address informed that TSC guidelines have been modified and a component of SLWM has been included and funds up to 10 per cent of the TSC project of a particular district can be allocated for this purpose. She also stressed the need for strengthening IEC activities to make people aware of the importance of personal and community hygiene. Joint Secretary (DWS), Shri A. Bhattacharya welcomed the gathering and Shri K. Alok, Project Officer, UNICEF presented a technical note on SLWM in rural areas.

The workshop is attended by representatives from the States and UNICEF. Experts in the field of sanitation, such as Sh. Ishwar Bhai Patel, Safai Vidyalaya, Ahmedabad; Sh. Chandi Charan Dey, Coordinator Water & Sanitation, RamKrishna Mission, Narendrapur, West Bengal; Dr. S. Ponnuraj, Dean Faculty, Gandhinagar Rural Institute, Pune; Sh. Srikant Narvekar, Nirmal Gram Nirman Kendra, Nasik; Dr. S.V. Mapuskar, Appa Patwardhan Safai Wparyawaran, Pune; Sh. M.M. Datta, Ex WHO member, Delhi and Sh. D.S. Dhapola, Centre for Good Governance, Uttranchal are also attending the workshop. Various models of SLWM practiced in different parts of the country are discussed with the Programme Managers during the workshop.(PIB)

 

 

URL- http://www.indlawnews.com/A3FAD8362AE16E6702D6D4B4FA3E535F