Ensure 30 UP districts are open defecation free by December: CM Yogi Adityanath's target to officials

Yogi Adityanath has asked senior state government officials to ensure that 30 districts of the state are open defecation free by December.

Lucknow: A day after being sworn in as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday asked senior state government officials to ensure that 30 districts of the state are open defecation free by December.

The UP CM administered a sanitation pledge to the officials and asked them to ensure that the pledge is effectively implemented, the state government said in a release.

On lines of Swachh Bharat Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CM said that, "UP lags behind other states as far as cleanliness is concerned. Despite availability of safai workers both in urban and rural areas, there is laxity in this regard."

Asking officials to pull up their socks, he said that the should act on a war-footing scale and achieve the target of making 30 districts open-defecation free by December, cabinet minister Siddharth Nath Singh told PTI.

उत्तर प्रदेश के मुख्यमंत्री श्री आदित्यनाथ योगी सभी विभागों के अपर मुख्य सचिव/प्रमुख सचिव/सचिव को स्वच्छता-शपथ दिलाते हुए।#SwachhBharat pic.twitter.com/c99QHNi7p7

— CM Office, GoUP (@CMOfficeUP) March 20, 2017

Yogi Adityanath also emphasised that police stations and tehsil offices should be free from political pressures.

He said every department should have a citizen charter and efforts should be made to ensure availability of government services to public in a time-bound manner.

The CM also stressed on zero-tolerance of corruption and suggested posting of "sensitive and honest officials" in important positions. 

At the same time, he today directed officials to declare their assets within 15 days, following up on a similar order to ministers yesterday, a move aimed at uprooting corruption.

At his first interaction with senior officials in Lok Bhawan, the chief minister also instructed them to ensure implementation of BJP's 'Sankalp Patra' (manifesto).

"It was an introductory meeting with UP government officials. The officials were told that the Sankalp Patra has to be implemented," Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya, who was also present, told reporters.

The meeting was attended by around 65 senior officials.

A 47-member Council of Ministers, including two deputy CMs, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor Ram Naik yesterday.

Adityanath, who was sworn-in as the 21st CM of UP, has promised to work for all sections of the society without any discrimination, pursuing the agenda of 'sabka sath, sabka vikas'.

(With PTI inputs)