Maharashtra government to launch 'Swachhata Saptapadi' scheme on Friday

Mumbai: On the lines of Centre government's 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan', the Maharashtra Government will launch 'Swachhata Saptapadi' scheme on Friday, a senior Urban Development official said.

The grants received by the municipal councils and corporations from the 14th Finance Commission will be linked with the successful implementation of the scheme, Secretary to Urban Development department, Manisha Mhaiskar said.

Actor Aamir Khan will attend the inauguration ceremony as a guest along with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and Minister of State for UD Dr Ranjit Patil.

"There are about eight lakh homes in urban areas of the state that do not have toilets. Though dwellers do not necessarily defecate in open, they either use community or common toilets," she said.

"The state government wants to stop this. Thus, we will first have to provide them proper facilities to defecate. This is the first mission of 'Swachhata Saptapadi'," Mhaiskar said.

The officer said while implementing the Sant Gadgababa Swachata Abhiyan, the government has managed to considerably clean up urban areas, but the problem of debris and waste remained unanswered.

"It didn't occur to us that the solution of disposing off waste would lie in its processing. Thus, we see a mountain of waste gathered at most dumping grounds," she said.

Mhaisakar said under the new scheme, debris or waste will not be allowed to dump at dumping grounds and processing of waste will be made mandatory.

"We are expecting the Centre to guide us on the uniform processing of waste throughout the state," she said.

Mhaiskar said municipal corporations and municipal councils have to adopt new technology for disposal of waste and the grants received from the Centre will be linked to the implementation of the scheme.

"If the councils and corporations fail to implement Swachata Saptrapati, they will loose a part of the grant," she said. Local self-government bodies likes gram Panchayats, Zilla Parishads, municipal councils and corporations receive grant from the 14th Finance Commission.

On June 1, the Union government will hold a meeting of all Urban Development secretaries to discuss on how to link grants to the scheme while the guidelines are expected to be finalised in the meeting.