Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The air pollution in major cities of the country and Maharashtra state is increasing rapidly. Hence the Central and the State Governments have recently taken up the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) to overcome the growing threat of hazy air.
Like other urban local self-bodies, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) also received a grant of crores of rupees under NCAP. Accordingly, the CSMC undertook concrete steps to improve air quality by utilising this fund.
Meanwhile, a quarterly report of NCAP highlighting the measures taken by respective municipal corporations stated that Thane is the cleanest city in the state and
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city bags second position. Meanwhile, our city has also ranked 12th in the country.
As reported earlier, the CSMC has started implementing various activities to keep the air clean for the last two to three years. The municipal corporation administrator G Sreekanth also accelerated these activities for effective results.
It may be noted that the CSMC has utilised the NCAP funds for constructing water fountains in traffic islands and vertical gardens at important intersections (circles and squares) of the city. It also planted trees between the dividers, spared a separate tipper for lifting and transporting building material waste, fixed cement paver blocks on footpaths in different parts of the city, cleaning important roads every night with sweeping machines, etc.
A total of 126 cities in the country have been identified under NCAP. After Thane and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the cities like Navi Mumbai and Nagpur also shine in the list. The deputy commissioner Ravindra Jogdand, garden superintendent Vijay Patil and consultant Geetanjali Kaushik are making strenuous efforts to keep the air of the city clean.