Jammu, Dec 17: Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta Friday called for making urban areas of Jammu and Kashmir litter-free by March 2022.
Reviewing the functioning of the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUUD), the Chief Secretary directed the department to ensure ‘litter-free’ urban areas by 2022 and implementation of scientific waste management techniques including safe disposal in landfills.
He advised the department to convert all legacy dumpsites into green zones through appropriate interventions.
Mehta called for dedicated and persistent de-weeding drives in Dal and Nigeen lakes throughout the year for holistic cleanliness and upkeep of the areas, besides implementing the sewerage treatment protocols in a time-bound manner.
He asked the department to promote rainwater harvesting techniques in urban areas to optimally utilise rainwater and augment the receding water supplies.
The chief secretary emphasised the financial and environmental sustainability of developmental works and models being executed through various local governance bodies and directed the formulation of guiding principles and framework.
He asked the department to lay special focus on capacity building and training of both the elected members and employees of all urban local bodies.
Mehta also advised the department to evolve performance-linked incentives to reward the municipalities registering good performance in reform implementation.
He directed the department to promote IT-enabled citizen services by strengthening the IT infrastructure and backend service support to extend the ease of access to remaining government services.