Bhubaneswar: Bhubaneswar and Puri have been selected among 50 cities from across India under the PRAGATI 50 Initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), aimed at strengthening urban sanitation and scientific waste management under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0.
The two Odisha cities are among those selected from 24 States and Union Territories to be developed as “Model Sanitation Cities” through focused monitoring, technical handholding and faster implementation of sanitation and waste-management measures.
The national launch of the initiative was held virtually on Monday under the chairmanship of Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar. During the programme, the Union Minister interacted with Odisha Housing and Urban Development Minister Krushna Chandra Mahapatra. Additional Chief Secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department Usha Padhee also participated in the meeting.
During the interaction, Mahapatra highlighted Odisha’s ongoing efforts to turn waste into value. He said Compressed Bio-Gas (CBG) plants are being established in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri with support from Oil India’s corporate social responsibility initiatives.
The State is also pursuing waste-to-charcoal initiatives in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack as part of efforts to promote alternative approaches to waste processing and resource recovery.
Mahapatra reaffirmed Odisha’s commitment to implementing PRAGATI 50 in coordination with MoHUA, the concerned urban local bodies and the SBM-U teams, following the guidelines and standard operating procedures prescribed by the Centre.
Under the initiative, the selected cities will focus on solid waste management, used water management, sanitation, cleanliness and citizen participation. The cities are also expected to develop and demonstrate practices that can be replicated in other urban centres.
The selection of Bhubaneswar and Puri assumes added importance because of their distinct urban roles. Bhubaneswar, the State capital, has a growing urban population and expanding civic infrastructure, while Puri is a major cultural and religious destination that receives large numbers of visitors.
The Housing and Urban Development Department, in coordination with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation, Puri Municipal Corporation and SBM-U teams, will undertake focused interventions in the two cities and track progress against defined key performance indicators.
The PRAGATI 50 initiative is expected to provide an additional framework for Odisha to strengthen sanitation systems, improve waste management and increase citizen participation, while creating practices that can potentially be adopted by other urban centres.
