Imphal, Sept. 7: Imphal City was ranked 109th in a survey conducted by New Delhi in March this year on the cleanliness of 423 cities with a population of more than one lakh.

Stirred by the result, Manipur chief minister Okram Ibobi Singh has vowed to make Imphal one of the cleanest cities in the country and as clean, if not cleaner than, Shillong, which was ranked among the first 15 cities.

Inspired by the success of a campaign carried out by the Andhra Pradesh Namatkal municipal council, the Imphal Municipal Council, housing and urban development department and state planning and development authorities launched a “0 garbage campaign” under the public-private partnership mode to literally sweep the seven Assembly constituencies under the municipal council.

“The idea is to make Imphal’s environment clean and garbage free. Surat, which was ranked third cleanest in the country according to the March survey, also inspires us. Culture and sports introduces Manipur to the world. The idea is to let the city also introduce Manipur to the world,” Nepram Gitchandra, special administrator of Imphal Municipal Council and chief town planner told The Telegraph.

According to the plan, the task of collecting garbage will be entrusted to four NGOs. Vehicles will come directly to the houses and collect the garbage at a fee of Rs 50 per house and take it to the municipal council dumping ground at Lamphel of Imphal West.

Garbage bins will be placed at strategic points in the city, to be cleared by municipal council vehicles.

The municipal council plans to enforce bylaws to penalise violators by imposing fines between Rs 100 and 200. Video cameras will also be installed at strategic locations of the city.

The government has also tied up with local clubs, which will play a major role in making the campaign a success.

Identified clubs in 27 wards of the municipal council will shoulder the responsibility of registering the houses.

The municipal council has an area of 35 square km and a population of 2.5 lakh.

If the experiment succeeds, the campaign will be extended to other municipal areas.

As part of the preparation of the real action plan (to be carried out by four NGOs, local clubs and households) Ibobi Singh launched an awareness campaign on August 12.

During the campaign, resource persons will explain the project at 81 meetings to be held at selected places in the seven constituencies.

The campaign will continue till October 31. So far, 16 meetings have been held in three constituencies.

The clubs will compete within each of the municipal council wards for first, second and third prizes of Rs 15,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 7,000 respectively.

The seven wards will also have a similar competition with prizes of Rs 50,000, Rs 30,000 and Rs 20,000.

The “0 garbage campaign” is also a part of the implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The garbage treatment plant at Lamdeng of Imphal West will also be ready for commission by March next.