The government will commence a pre-monsoon cleaning drive on April 1.
The accent is on making public places garbage and litter free. The drive will focus on cleaning and desilting rivers, lagoons, canals, ponds and clogged stormwater drains. The government has prioritised the fortification of embankments of waterbodies.
A top-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tasked LSGIs to spearhead the special drive. Civic and public health officials will work hand-in-glove with neighbourhood watch groups and volunteers to prepare the State for the rainy season.
The government emphasises preventing flooding, water logging and infectious diseases. The drive will cover commercial institutions, marriage halls, eateries, malls and educational institutions.
Large swathes of the State would be declared litter and garbage-free zones. The government has ordered concerned departments to prosecute violators.
Mr. Vijayan also stressed the need for households to ensure the disposal of biodegradable waste at the source.
The administration has tasked LSGIs to ensure aero-bins for composting waste at the household and neighbourhood level. The government would also review waste disposal mechanisms in high-rises and gated communities.
The Chief Minister asked offices and homes to observe Friday and Sunday as dry days to prevent vector-borne diseases. He tasked District Collectors to monitor the drive personally and despatch progress reports to the government.
Mr. Vijayan also asked collectors to prepare a list of drains, canals, water bodies, streams and ponds in their respective districts as a precursor of the cleaning drive.
The CM flagged the dumping of demolished constructions in rivers and lagoons. He also stressed the need to use dredgers to de-silt and deepen canals and rivers to restore their natural flow to prevent flooding.
Mr. Vijayan ordered disaster management authorities to identify and audit flood, water logging, landslip and mudslide-prone localities to take advance steps to mitigate natural disasters during the monsoon.
He asked authorities to evacuate people from such localities in advance. The government ordered authorities to ensure the structural stability of power lines, electric grids and electric posts. Mr. Vijayan asked authorities to prune trees to avoid becoming top-heavy and uprooted during the stormy weather.
Mr. Vijayan said LSGIs should prepare hyper-localised preliminary plans and execute the programme within the pre-monsoon deadline set by the government. The government would start round-the-clock monsoon control rooms in districts. It asked Fire and Rescue Services, Revenue, Police, and Forest departments to muster men and materials for rapid emergency deployment and ensure timely response to distress calls.
Law Minister P. Rajeeve, Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamad Riyas, Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine, Local-Self Government Minister M.B. Rajesh, Health Minister Veena George, Additional Chief Secretaries V. Venu and Sarada Muralidharan attended.
