BJP takes dig at JK CM, DyCM for poor ranking in Swachh Bharat

Criticising its own government in Jammu and Kashmir, the BJP today took a dig at Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh for "worst ranking" of the twin capital cities of the state under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

In the 'Swachh Bharat' 2017 survey conducted by the Centre, Jammu was ranked at 251st place while Srinagar stood at 241st position.

"The people at the helm of affairs in the state, including the chief minister, other ministers (deputy CM), heads of state departments, vice-chairman of Development Authorities, commissioners of corporations etc need to introspect," BJP state spokesperson Prof Virender Gupta said here.

He said the people of the state had pinned their hopes on the PDP-BJP government which had promised to make the cities of Jammu and Srinagar the model cities of the country.

"It seems the authorities concerned had not made efforts that were needed and remained sluggish in the operation and implementation of projects," he said.

The BJP spokesperson said more than 10 years have passed since the sewerage project was initiated in Jammu, but "it has not achieved even 20 per cent of its target." "The projects under the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) are also moving at a slow pace...the municipal corporation is known for its inefficiency...there are garbage dumps lying throughout the cities and no regularity is maintained in cleaning drains and streets of the cities," he said.

The BJP leader further alleged that no special efforts were being made to make river Tawi pollution-free and that "at present more than 80 per cent of the city drainage flows into the Tawi river."

Gupta also highlighted the "non-availability of parking slots" in Jammu, adding "common citizens are facing great difficulty due to a Jammu and Kashmir High Court order and unrealistic pro-activeness on part of traffic police." He asked the state government to appeal the High Court for reconsideration of its order directing police to seize all vehicles parked illegally on the roads.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)