Take Responsibility To Make Your Town/City No.1: Odisha CM To Newly-Elected Mayors, Municipal Chairpersons

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday inaugurated a two-day orientation workshop of the newly elected Mayors and Chairpersons of all the Urban Local Bodies at Lok Seva Bhavan here today.

While addressing the inauguration function, the Odisha CM said take the lead and work hard to make your city better. Stay with people and work hard to solve their problems.

Informing that the various programs of the State government for the betterment of the urban areas have gained national and international recognition, the Chief Minister said that the Jaga Mission has become a model for developing countries. He also said that Odisha is the only state in the country to implement the Sujal project to provide safe drinking water from taps.

In his speech, the Chief Minister focused on the government’s flagship programs like Jaga Mission, Sujal, Aahaar, Smart LED Light, etc.

The Chief Minister said that during the development of the slums, the state government had launched the Jaga Mission with more emphasis on people than land. So far, 1,75,000 families have been given land rights and 585 slums have been converted into Adarsh (model) Colony.

He also informed that while clean drinking water is being provided in Puri through the Sujal project, work is underway in 20 cities across the state.

Similarly, the MUKTA Yojana, which was started for the city’s poor and migrant workers during the Covid pandemic, will continue and Rs 500 crore has been allocated towards it in the budget. The Chief Minister said that the program, which is run through Mission Shakti and the slum development association, is very popular.

Considering that sanitation is the most important thing he advised the ULB representatives to focus on cleanliness and waste management.

The Chief Minister congratulated the women on their victory in the recent municipal elections and advised them to do good deeds and to keep the faith of the people.

As the 5T principle plays an important role in the transformation of urban development, the Chief Minister advised implementing the 5T principle at every level and providing better services to the people.

The Chief Minister hoped that the new leadership and new management techniques would be successful in bringing municipal services to new heights.

Addressing the workshop, Minister for Urban Development Panchayati Raj and Law Pratap Jena advised the newly elected Mayors and Chairpersons to continue their sincere efforts towards the successful implementation of various urban development programs.

Among others, Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, Principal Secretary, Urban Development Department G. Mathi Bhat Nan and Municipal Director Sangramjit Nayak were present.