By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, SEPT 05, 2018: THE Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Mr Hardeep Singh Puri, has said that the civic bodies of the national capital will achieve their physical target of  constructing  5 lakhs community and 67 lakhs individual household toilets by the end of 2019. Speaking after inaugurating a workshop on “Swachh Survekshan-2019” for the municipal bodies of the national capital city here yesterday, he said,  so far as the Open Defecation Free (ODF) target was concerned, it required the behavioral change of the public at large in rural and urban areas of the country.

The workshop on "Swachh Survekshan-2019",  organized by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC)  in collaboration with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, was attended by delegates from all the three civic bodies and Delhi Cantonment Board.

Mr Hardeep Puri said that the behavior change had many aspects like gender empowerment,  dignity of girl child,  and green and clean cities envisioned under the Swachh Bharat Mission. He said, in addition to construction of toilets, more attention and efforts are required in respect of scientific processing of solid waste Management. He said, the Swachhta Mission has now become a mass movement. 

The Minister appreciated that the NDMC  has bagged the first position in the category of cities of 1-3 Lakh population and overall fourth position in the country and hoped that it would get the overall first position in the forthcoming Swachhta Survekshan-2019. 

Mr Hardeep Puri  said that under the Smart City initiatives, the NDMC had achieved many milestones by commissioning various projects like Wi-Fi, Smart Poles, Solar Tree and Ideation Centre at Connaught Place. 

Stressing upon the reduction of plastic items in day-to-day life, Member Parliament, Smt. Meenakashi Lekhi said that it is the need of the hours to come forward to reduce, reuse  and recycle the plastic waste so as to make the planet environment friendly.