First make 50 cities completely clean: PM to urban affairs ministry, states

New Delhi: Chairing a Pragati meeting on Wednesday, PM Narendra Modi told housing and urban affairs ministry officials to first identify 50 cities and achieve 100% cleanliness in them in all aspects, from making them garbage free to processing all their solid and liquid waste.

TOI has learnt that Modi suggested that ministry and state govts collaborate to demonstrate this as examples while continuing their efforts to make cities cleaner. The Ministry made a detailed presentation on progress of Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0.

In an official statement, PMO said that Modi emphasised the need for effective implementation of the mission while underlining that it should move beyond infrastructure creation and ensure measurable outcomes through regular monitoring, citizen participation and convergence among various stakeholders.

Officials said that while reviewing progress of railway projects, Modi expressed his unhappiness over delay in their implementation due to identification of issues at a later stage, and also over delay in release of compensation. “PM asked why responsibility should not be fixed in such cases as delay in project execution due to any avoidable reason resulting in cost escalation and time overrun,” said an official.

Reviewing a road and port connectivity project for Vadhavan port in Maharashtra, PM said it should be executed as a model of port-led, multi-modal development, where every major mode of transport is seamlessly integrated to create a future-ready logistics ecosystem. “He suggested the shipping ministry transport materials for development of the greenfield port rather than waiting for the road link to be completed,” said another official.

While reviewing a power sector project, Modi emphasised the need to accelerate rooftop solar adoption across urban areas, particularly in residential clusters and public institutions. “He underlined that rooftop solar should be taken up in mission mode to reduce electricity costs, improve energy security and promote clean energy at the household and community level,” PMO said.

PM also stressed innovative use of canal networks, including installation of solar panels along canals and over canals for clean electricity generation. “This would help optimise land use, reduce evaporation losses, generate renewable energy and create additional economic value from water infrastructure,” govt said.