CM Naidu Vows to Make AP Zero Garbage State by January
Naidu criticised the previous government, saying it failed to clear 85 lakh metric tonnes of garbage, and to keep the temple city Tirumala clean.
Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has announced that the state government has set a target to make Andhra Pradesh a ‘zero garbage state’ by January 1 next.
Addressing a gathering during the presentation of state-level Swachha Andhra awards at Tummalapalli Kshetraiah Kalakshetram here on Monday, the CM promised to induct 100 vehicles called ‘Swachha Rathas’ to realise the target to make AP free from domestic garbage.
Naidu criticised the previous government, saying it failed to clear 85 lakh metric tonnes of garbage, and to keep the temple city Tirumala clean. The YSRC government, he noted, had slapped a waste tax on the people and left huge piles of garbage uncleared. Naidu claimed credit for lifting the waste tax after he formed the present government and also for clearing the garbage on a regular basis from city streets.
He called upon the people to work together to make AP clean, green and healthy. He praised the cities in the state that won national awards for keeping their localities clean. “Unless we realise Swachh Andhra, it would not be possible to achieve the Swarna Andhra target,” he said.
The CM said that it was after making a study on the maintenance of cleanliness in Singapore that his government had implemented such a project in Hyderabad; and “we also introduced a night cleaning system.”
Naidu praised Swachh Sainiks for their efforts to keep the towns and cities clean and described them as warriors to wipe out dirt.
He called upon students to inculcate the habit of planting saplings and said that the government was adopting a ‘Use-Recover-Reuse’ policy and not ‘Use and Throw’ policy in the state.
The CM presented awards to Swachh Sainiks. The Swachha Andhra Corporation presented 75 state-level awards in 21 categories and 1,257 awards at the district level.