Eager to get on with swachhata work while continuing its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation, Punjab in coordination with the Department of Rural Development and Panchayats conducted a webinar to acquaint its Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) and other stakeholders on various components of the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G) Phase II.
Hosted by the Mahatma Gandhi State Institute of Public Administration, Chandigarh, the event held on 16th September 2020 from 1-5 PM saw the participation of 475 Sarpanchs as also PRI members and State and District Officials. A day before the webinar, a rehearsal session was conducted so participants would get used to the online webinar format.
The platform was used to disseminate necessary information to the Sarpanchs regarding the construction of community sanitary complexes, solid and liquid waste management, and grey water management on a large scale. Besides, guidelines on the various components of SBM-G Phase II were shared.
Comprehensive presentations were made on Introduction to SBM-G Phase II; Roles and responsibilities of PRIs under SBM-G; and 15th Finance Commission Grants available for SBM-G II. This was followed by experience sharing by officials and champion Sarpanchs, concluding with a question and answer session.
Smt. Parneet Shergill, Mission Director, Swachh Bharat Grameen-cum-Additional Secretary Water Supply and Sanitation welcomed the participants and shared information regarding projects that can be taken up under the new guidelines of Phase II. Construction of Community Sanitary Complexes to cater to the floating population, as well as migrant workers; management of solid waste through collection and segregation of waste and setting up of composting pits, and rejuvenation of ponds, were among the topics she touched upon.
On the other hand, Shri Jatinder Singh Brar, Deputy Director, Department of Rural Development of Panchayats provided ample information regarding provisions of opening and operating separate bank accounts for sanitation and the process by which GPs could avail funds from the 15th Finance Commission Grants and the Swachh Bharat component.
Meanwhile, Smt. Amarpreet Kaur, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mansa who led the solid waste management campaign by collaborating with the Round Glass Foundation NGO shared the experience and challenges she faced during the implementation of the programme. She advised the sarpanchs to judiciously use the available grants to make their villages neat and clean. She emphasised that through such initiatives, the community can not only make their environment clean but also generate employment opportunities.
A presentation on the best practices adopted in the villages of Block Doraha in District Ludhiana followed. Smt. Navdeep Baur, BDPO of Doraha encouraged the participants to adopt these solid waste management practices in their respective villages, inviting them to visit the villages where she had already initiated such work to see for themselves. She said such practices would offer a better future to future generations.
Outlining their roles and responsibilities in implementing Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) Phase II in the villages, Smt. Rosy Vaid Professor cum Head SIRD encouraged the GP heads to actively participate in the programme and leave no stone unturned to make their villages both clean and beautiful. She urged them to attend other trainings and capacity building programmes to enhance their knowledge.
To give the participants some idea of the ongoing SLWM projects in many villages, Shri Sarbjit Singh, Sub Divisional Engineer, Sanitation shared various videos.
The highlight of the event was the sharing of experiences by champion Sarpanchs from Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Bathinda, Mansa and Fazilka.
The Q&A session saw the active participation of Sarpanchs whose queries were ably answered by the resource persons.
Online participation certificates were issued to the participants after they had filled the feedback forms.
Inputs: Ms. Sevya Sharma, Community Development Specialist, DWSS.
Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) 