Villages within 10 km of International Border to be developed on priority

[Hindustani78]

Villages within 10 km of IB to be developed on priority | Zee News
Last Updated: Wednesday, July 8, 2015 - 19:57


New Delhi: All villages located within 10 km of the international border will be developed on a priority basis with special emphasis on promotion of sports activities and rural tourism.

This was decided by the Home Ministry in consultation with Union Ministries like Rural Development, Sports, Health and Family Welfare and HRD.

While the sports activities include rock climibing, river rafting, forest tracking, special initiatives will be taken for development of goshala, fishery ponds etc.

A fresh guideline has also been issued by the Home Ministry saying that the Border Area Development Programme (BADP) has been extended to cover all the villages which are located within the 0-10 km of the international border.

Priority will be given to those villages located within 0-10 km from the international border and within that the villages identified by the Border Guarding Forces (BGF) shall get upper-most priority.

The funds under BADP are provided to the states as a 100 per cent non-lapsable special central assistance. The programme is supplemental in nature and the budget allocation for the financial year 2015-16 is Rs.990 crore.

The list of schemes permissible under BADP has been expanded to include schemes and activities relating to swatchhta aabhiyan, skill development programmes, promotion of sports activities in border areas, promotion of rural tourism/ border tourism; protection of heritage sites.

Construction of helipads in remote and inaccessible hilly areas, which do not have road connectivity, skill development training to farmers for use of modern or scientific technique in farming, organic farming are some other areas to be given emphasis.

Provision for third party inspection and quality control mechanism under Home Ministry for random inspections of BADP schemes by independent monitors (Individual/ Agency) to be designated as National Quality Monitors has been made.

It has been provided that the state governments shall have the monitoring of BADP schemes by the existing district-level monitoring/ vigilance committee where local Members of Parliament and MLAs are represented.

Special/specific area schemes such as composite development of at least one village of sizeable population surrounded by five-six or more villages close to the border as model village, swachh bharat abhiyan, construction of toilets in schools, public places particularly for women, warehouses for food grains and fodder in hilly areas particularly in snow-bound areas of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, E-chaupals, agrishops, mobile media vans etc. Have been made.

Border Area Development Programme (BADP) has been implemented in 367 border blocks of 104 border districts in 17 states.

The main objective of BADP is to meet special developmental needs and well-being of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international border and to saturate the border areas with the entire essential infrastructure through convergence of central/state/ BADP/ local schemes and participatory approach.

BADP was started in 1986-87 for balanced development of border areas in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Gujarat and Rajasthan and subsequently it was extended to all the land borders.

PTI

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation
05-October, 2018 16:20 IST
Behavioural change and Citizen/Community Participation is key to Sustained Management of Municipal solid waste: Hardeep Puri

Solid waste Management is top Priority of Urban Development, says Puri

Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (I/C) of Housing & Urban Affairs, has stated that from source of generation to segregation and scientific disposal of waste, modern and innovative approaches are needed which are environmentally sound, socially acceptable, technologically feasible and economically viable. He was speaking at a function organised on “World Habitat Day – 2018 Celebration” with the theme ‘Municipal Solid Waste Management’ (MSWM) here today. Shri Durga Shankar Mishra, Secretary in the Ministry and officers from the department and its entities were also present on the occasion. The function was also attended by representatives of the United Nations and UN-Habitat.

Addressing the gathering, Shri Puri said that the Government has considered solid waste management as top priority area of urban development and added that the launch of ‘Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) - Clean India Mission’ envisages 100 per cent of the urban population to be covered under Solid Waste Management (SWM) services. Acknowledging the importance given by UN-Habitat as well as Government of India’s priority for appropriate and scientific management of municipal solid waste, he said it is one of the basic requirements to maintain quality of living in urban areas.

Shri Puri said that “the theme also reminds us of our collective responsibility to implement the adopted Sustainable Development Goals particularly SDG Goal No. 11, ‘to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable’ along with basic services. Other SDGs linked with the theme of Municipal Solid Waste Management are Goal No. 3 ‘ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages’, Goal No. 12 ‘ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns’, Goal No. 13 ‘ to take urgent action to combat climate change and impacts’.” He said that environmentally sound waste management practices have a strong entry point to achieve a range of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Solid waste management includes all activities that seek to minimize health, environmental, and aesthetic impacts of solid waste, he said.

The Minister pointed out that through the adoption of New Urban Agenda in 2016, the member nations of the UN committed themselves to promote environmentally sound waste management and to substantially reduce waste generation by reducing, reusing and recycling waste, minimizing landfills and converting waste to energy when waste cannot be recycled or when this choice delivers the best environmental outcome.

Stating that one of the off-shoots of the growing urbanisation is the increase in generation of solid waste in cities and towns, Shri Puri pointed out that a Planning Commission Report (2014) projected that by 2031, the Indian urban centres will generate 165 million tons of waste annually. “This alarming state highlights the needed importance of scientific waste management from the perspective of both public health and environmental concerns”, he added.

Shri Puri said that in India, almost 88.4 megawatts (MW) of energy is generated from waste-to-energy (WTE) projects and the waste-to-compost production stands at 15.69 Lakhs metric tonnes (17 September 2018). He urged the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to concentrate on managing the solid waste by skilled municipal staff, adequate training and capacity building, and called upon national training institutions such as HUDCO’s HSMI, NIUA and other multi and bilateral organisations to intensify their efforts towards effective planning and management of urban services, especially management of municipal solid waste. He said, “a significant outlay has been allocated for Solid Waste Management (SWM) projects in the country over the years. Behavioural change and citizen/community participation in SWM is the key to sustain a project related to management of municipal solid waste, the Minister said and added that if municipal solid waste management is done through proper planning and management, it would lead to a business case of income generation and provide financial support to ULBs by generating revenue.

Shri Durga Shankar Mishra in his address stated that environmentally sustainable waste management involves reuse and recycling of all types of waste ranging from domestic waste, industrial waste, medical waste to e-waste. Improvement of urban services including Solid Waste Management requires a holistic approach with integrated focus on planning, technology, policy, administrative and legal actions, he said and added that “Waste avoidance, segregation at source, and disposal all need to be given importance in the process of reducing and managing solid waste. As land is a scarce resource, there is a need to maximise resource recovery from waste recycling and to reduce the need for landfill sites”, he added.

Shri Mishra said that in order to bring attitudinal and mind-set changes towards safe sanitary habits/practices, cities administrations are involved in various awareness generation activities on regular basis in partnership with the local NGOs and swachhagrahis. He pointed out that recently, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has released the guidelines on ‘Empowering Marginalised Groups- Convergence between SBM and DAY-NULM, 2018’ with the vision to create livelihoods opportunities in the areas of solid and liquid waste management.

On the occasion several publications were released by Shri Hardeep Puri who also gave away awards to winners of painting competitions for school children.

First Monday of October of every year has been designated by the United Nations as World Habitat Day. The purpose of World Habitat Day is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to have adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.

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The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (I/C), Shri Hardeep Singh Puri lighting the lamp at the World Habitat Day 2018 function, on the theme “Municipal Solid Waste Management”, in New Delhi on October 05, 2018. The Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Shri Durga Shanker Mishra is also seen.

The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (I/C), Shri Hardeep Singh Puri releasing the publication, at the World Habitat Day 2018 function, on the theme “Municipal Solid Waste Management”, in New Delhi on October 05, 2018. The Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Shri Durga Shanker Mishra and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (I/C), Shri Hardeep Singh Puri presenting the awards, at the World Habitat Day 2018 function, on the theme “Municipal Solid Waste Management”, in New Delhi on October 05, 2018. The Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Shri Durga Shanker Mishra is also seen.

The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (I/C), Shri Hardeep Singh Puri presenting the awards, at the World Habitat Day 2018 function, on the theme “Municipal Solid Waste Management”, in New Delhi on October 05, 2018. The Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development, Shri Durga Shanker Mishra and other dignitaries are also seen.

The Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (I/C), Shri Hardeep Singh Puri addressing at the World Habitat Day 2018 function, on the theme “Municipal Solid Waste Management”, in New Delhi on October 05, 2018.

 

[Hindustani78]

Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation
11-October, 2018 14:55 IST
Japanese Prime minister Mr. Shinzo Abe offers support to Swachh Bharat Mission

Prime Minister of Japan Mr. Shinzo Abe has offered his Government’s support to the Swachh Bharat Mission. In a written message, Mr Abe said that Japan will cooperate with India, which promotes the Clean India initiative under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership.

He further underscored Japan’s commitment to realize healthy societies in Asia and congratulated India on the success of the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention. “Securing clean water and improving sanitary conditions is a common challenge in the world. We hope for the further progress of each country’s efforts to address the challenge through active discussions at this convention (MGISC)”, Prime Minister Abe said in his message.

The Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention (MGISC) was a four-day international conference that brought together Sanitation Ministers and other leaders in WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) from around the world. A host of national and international dignitaries attended the event, which was inaugurated by the President and addressed by the Vice President of India. The Convention culminated on 2nd October 2018, Gandhi Jayanti, which was also celebrated as the Swachh Bharat Diwas. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, and the United Nations Secretary General, Mr António Guterres, addressed the concluding function.

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AR/SNC/SD