As a prelude to encouraging cities to improve urban, sanitation the Minister of Urban Development (MoUD) had conducted a ‘Swachh Survekshan-2-16’ survey for the rating of 73 cities in January 2016.
Imphal, the capital city of Manipur ranked in the fifth position. In a bid to scale up the coverage of the ranking exercise and encourage town and cities to actively implement mission initiatives in a timely and innovative manner, the MAHUD now proposes to conduct its second survey to rank 500 cities with a population of one lakh and above under the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM-U). The mission is to create healthy towns and cities a better and cleaner place to live in. Alongside, the central Government has launched a comprehensive mission “Housing for all by 2022” with a vision to provide each and every family a pucca house with water connection, toilet facilities, 24×7 electricity supply and access by the time India completes 75 years of Independence.
Is Imphal prepared for this adventure? Having a clean city and a good all weather houses is easy if we have smart people with clean mind and a good sanitary thinking. People in Imphal particularly or Manipur in general have high ideals of leaving but they have the habit of dumping garbage’s, solid waste along the roadside in the trenches, ponds, rivers or open places. Is this the failure of the local or municipal bodies to give Imphal a clean face or the failure of state Government for not having a proper city plan for Imphal. It won’t be wrong to say that Manipur is a failed State.
The rescue team is with a team captain, Mr. Gitkumar, Director, MAHUD, Government of Manipur, a visionary who is envisaged with the task of cleaning Imphal city on its way to the goal of making a smart city. The media sensitisation programme of August 14 , 2016 at the Manipur Press Club on Sachh Survekshan 2017 and Housing for all 2022 sponsored by MAHUD is a hallmark for the team in acknowledging the role and the importance of media in successfully implementing any scheme or mission launched by the state or the central Government. In the next major step the team led the town planning department and Manipur Urban Development Agency (MUDA) in organising and the sensitization programme for all the councillors and the members of all the 27 wards under the Imphal Municipal Council at the city convention centre on August 21, 2016 in which a dateline was fixed for demand survey by September 20, 2016. The first priority area shall be the declaration of Imphal an open defection free city.
Nonetheless, dirty politics always play a hidden game in hampering or derailing every project taken up in Manipur. Now is the time the conscientious citizens of Manipur to teach every politician a befitting lesson if they play their election card in implementing Sarchh Survekshan-2017 and Housing for All-2022. We urge the dynamic leader of the team, Mr Gitkumar to reach out to the people to get the goal of making Imphal a smart city as a dutiful public servant
