Special ten-day cleanliness drive kicks off today in flood and rain affected areas
* Survey to be carried out to assess damage to properties, public assets or private property including houses, shops
* Directs to depute Nodal Officers in each city for assisting Commissioners or EOs to coordinate relief & restoration efforts
Chandigarh, September 14:
Punjab Local Government Minister Dr. Ravjot Singh today said that a notification had been issued for measures to be taken by the Urban Local Bodies in view of recent floods in the State.
The Minister stated that the these measures included cleanliness, potable water supply, preventive health related interventions to ensure restoration of normalcy in the towns of the State. He stated that the requisite directions had been given to all Commissioners of Municipal Corporations, all Additional Deputy Commissioners (Urban Development/General) and all Executive Officers of Municipal Councils/ Nagar Panchayats across the state to take the task on mission mode.
Amid the severe inundation and water logging issues due to floods in the rivers Ravi, Beas, Satluj and Ghaggar as well as their tributaries and heavy rains, the Minister pointed out that the one of the major tasks was to ensure cleanliness. He said that silt or sand along with other debris would be collected in towns where inundation had occurred. The State Government has decided to initiate a Special drive for cleanliness of such silt/debris as well as road gullies/ city drains by ULBs by deploying the existing workforce as well as designating special teams/ fatigues, he added. The ULBs will make a roster for deployment of teams in the identified affected areas, where a ten-day special drive from September 14 to September 23 would be initiated.
The notification also mandates that a detailed advisory from Health & Family Welfare Department had already been given for healthcare services in these areas. Dr. Ravjot Singh said that the authorities concerned had also been directed to carry out a survey of damaged property, public assets or private property including houses, shops etc. This survey would be undertaken forthwith through the engineering staff in line with the instructions of the Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management department. The reports in this regard will be submitted to the Deputy Commissioners of the district for onward transmission to the State Government for relief/compensation, said the Minister.
Similarly, the Repair and Restoration of Damaged Property will also be ensured as the State Government has also given direction in this regard. The notification envisaged that the steps would be initiated forthwith to undertake repair of any affected water supply schemes, street lights, STPs, damaged roads (through urgent patchwork), etc. The Director said that proper repair of damaged roads/potholes may be initiated only after the end of the monsoon season though temporary filling may be done forthwith.
It was also directed to all concerned authorities to make a foolproof Implementation Mechanism to enlist and prioritize all the required measures to get the work done in a given time frame. The authorities would fix timeline for each work and depute designated officer besides ensuring transparency and maintain before-and-after photographs of all works.
The State Government has also made it clear that the proposed measures would be properly disseminated to the residents of towns/cities to help affected person/areas. Participation of local youth clubs, NGOs and various social organisations could be solicited for community mobilisation, stipulated the notification. The Nodal Officers should be appointed for different zones of the city, especially in the case of larger towns. The names and telephone numbers of respective Nodal Officers in each city who will be assisting the Commissioner or EO in coordinating the relief and restoration efforts could be shared with residents. Active support and assistance of PESCO ex-servicemen deployed across various ULBs should also be sought for purposes of reporting and verification of relief/restoration work undertaken by the respective teams.
Meanwhile, the Local Government Director Kulwant Singh mentioned that the Commissioners will be responsible for all the restoration works in their respective Municipal Corporations. Likewise, the ADCs (Urban Development/General) of the district will exercise close supervision on both the reporting of damages to public and private property as well as the above said works being undertaken by the respective Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats in their district.
