Una, 6 May:- Una district is on the threshold of being declared a district free from unclean toilets and the related practice of manual scavenging. Before the official announcement to this effect, DC Jatin Lal has asked for the final report from all the gram panchayats and urban bodies of the district. He was presiding over the meeting of the District Level Survey Committee constituted under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. Under this Act, this evil practice is banned across the country.
The Deputy Commissioner informed all the Block Development Officers of the district, the concerned Gram Panchayats and the secretaries of the urban bodies, all the Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats, within 2 days after taking information about the situation regarding unclean toilets in their areas and the bad practice of manual scavenging related to it. Instructed to submit the report. He said that they should obtain a certificate from Gram Panchayats and urban bodies that they are free from the practice of manual scavenging, otherwise they should submit data in this regard. At the same time, he also instructed the District Welfare Officer to take this certificate from all the members of the District Level Survey Committee in which they should clearly state whether any case of bad practice of manual scavenging is in their knowledge or not.
Let us tell you that in the past some Panchayats and Municipal Councils of the district have informed that there is no such case in their area. At the same time, in the public notice published by the administration, common citizens were requested to submit relevant information or claims in this regard, in which no claim of any kind was received from the people.
Now before the official announcement, DC has sought reports from all the panchayats and urban bodies of the district. On the basis of the report received, a public notice will be published regarding the intention to declare the district free from the practice of manual scavenging. In which common citizens will be requested to submit relevant information or claims in this regard. If no claim is received before the administration within 15 days after the publication of the public notice, then after that Una will be declared a district free from the evil practice of manual scavenging and its final notification will be issued.
In the meeting, District Welfare Officer Anita Sharma, Project Officer DRDA Shafali Sharma, District Statistics Officer Harminder Singh, Assistant Engineer Jal Shakti Hoshiar Singh, EO MC Mehatpur Basdehra Varsha Chaudhary, Junior Engineer Nagar Panchayat Amb Pramod Singh, Secretary Nagar Panchayat Daulatpur Harsh Gupta, Tahliwal. Vijay Singh and Gagret Sushma Rani, Sanitary Supervisor and MC Una Vijay Kumar and other members of the committee participated.