CM Praises Commitment of Swachha Sainiks
AMARAVATI: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu announced that Andhra Pradesh will become a zero-garbage state by January 1.
Participating as the chief guest at the Swachha Andhra Awards 2025 — the state-level awards ceremony held at Tummalapalli Kshetraiah Kalakshetram in Vijayawada this evening — the Chief Minister said that the previous government had imposed a garbage tax and neglected garbage clearance, resulting in the accumulation of 85 lakh metric tonnes of garbage across the state, including in Tirumala.
The NDA government, he said, abolished the garbage tax immediately after coming to power and set a target to clear the 85 lakh metric tonnes of garbage by October 2. He congratulated the Swachha Sainiks for adhering to the schedule and successfully clearing the garbage. He added that the remaining 30 lakh metric tonnes of garbage would also be cleared by December, and the state would become garbage-free by January 1.
The Chief Minister recalled that he had launched the Clean and Green programme in 1998 for the first time in the country. He said he had visited Singapore to study its clean and green programme and later implemented the Night Sanitation Programme in Hyderabad. Stating that cleanliness is a shared responsibility, the Chief Minister noted that students are being motivated through Green Passports to plant saplings. He added that the third Saturday of every month is being observed as Swachha Andhra Day.
He praised the commitment of sanitary worker Toudu Raju from Saluru for his dedicated service in maintaining cleanliness and for raising public awareness about the segregation of dry and wet waste.
Earlier, Minister for Municipal Administration P. Narayana, Swachh Andhra Corporation Chairman K. Pattabhiram, and S. Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development, addressed the gathering.
Later, the Chief Minister presented awards to Swachha Sainiks. The Swachha Andhra Corporation presented 75 awards in 21 categories and 1,257 awards at the district level.
Leave Comments