Bhubaneswar: The State of Odisha has embarked upon a transformative journey in urban sanitation in areas of solid waste and faecal waste management. With two recent National Awards – as the “Fastest Mover State” and for Berhampur Municipal Corporation under the category of “Innovation and Best Practices” – in Swachh Survekshan-2020, Odisha reiterated its commitment of building a safe, clean and healthy state on the occasion of Local Self Government Day celebrated on Monday.
On the occasion, Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik dedicated various sanitation infrastructures and facilities to the citizens of Odisha during a state level event organised by the Housing & Urban Development Department (H&UDD). Among the initiatives were – inauguration of 100 Micro Composting Centres (MCC) set-up to manage wet waste and 50 Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) set-up to manage dry waste and foundation stone laying for establishment of 51 Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (FSTPs). These treatment facilities will now be benefitting a large urban population of the State.
With the State’s constant endeavour to engage community-based organisations for management of sanitation facilities and to promote women empowerment, Hon’ble Chief Minister handed over the operation and maintenance of four septage treatment plants to women Self Help Groups (SHGs) and their federations in the four cities of Rourkela, Angul, Balasore and Dhenkanal. Women and transgender SHGs are now managing septage treatment facilities in eight cities of Odisha – the first State in the Country to have partnered with SHGs for this work.
“Women empowerment is one of the success Mantras of our Government. I am happy to note that the sanitation workers and Mission Shakti SHG members have become the warp and weft of the fabric of sanitation solution in the State,” the CM noted.
Also present during the occasion was Hon’ble Minister for Housing and Urban Development, Shri Pratap Jena who highlighted that Odisha’s efforts in both solid waste and faecal waste management will result in improved public health and environment outcomes.
“We are working towards developing and positioning the Odisha model, a decentralized and low-cost model with community partnership and minus contractors as an International Best Practice,” said Shri G. Mathi Vathanan, IAS, Principal Secretary to Government, H&UD Department.
As part of the 5T (Transparency, Teamwork, Technology, Timeliness leading to Transformation) mandate, the Hon’ble Chief Minister also launched the Mobile App ‘Ama Sahar’ and ‘Swaccha Sahara Odisha’ Web App to provide citizen centric services. With the launching of the Web App, the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) will now be able to submit Utilisation Certificate on-line which will bring in better fiscal management.
A “Handbook on Sanitation”, which is a compendium of important notifications, letters, guidelines issued by the Department along with National Green Tribunal (NGT) orders was released which will act as a single point reference for all stakeholders.
The event concluded with Hon’ble Chief Minister felicitating the best performing ULBs of the State in the recent “Swachh Survekshan 2020.” While taking pride in the achievements made by the local bodies in making the cities cleaner, the Hon’ble Chief Minister appreciated the effort made by the ULBs in the management of solid and liquid waste. He also commended the sanitation warriors for their continuous and immeasurable efforts during Covid -19 pandemic.
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