Bhubaneswar: The low ranking of the twin cities in the Swachh Survekshan 2018 has left the housing and urban development department so ashamed that the government has decided to take initiatives to get things done by the urban local bodies of these cities.

Bhubaneswar ranked 245th among the 4,023 participating cities in the survey while Cuttack was placed 402th.

"We provided all support to the urban local bodies for maintaining cleanliness in their respective areas, but they continue to under-perform. This is not acceptable," said an official of urban development department.

To begin with, the housing and urban development department has now shifted the deadline for declaring the cities free from open defecation before September instead of the earlier October 2 deadline. The department has allot ted extra funds to the civic bodies to achieve the targets.

To achieve the open defecation-free status by the new deadline, the department has also issued a protocol to be followed by the civic bodies. The councillors and other volunteers of each ward will take steps at their end and submit the open defecation-free certificate for respective wards before the civic authorities.

Besides, the department has also directed the civic body to resolve all issues related to the Bhuasuni dumping yard and began the work on setting up of the waste-to-energy plant and another plastic waste treatment plant at the place. Accordingly, the plastic shredding unit and a compost plant will also be set up near Sainik School.

"We have sanctioned a post of legal expert for the civic body for help in legal matters. Necessary support will be provided to the civic body for resolving the issues of the dumping yard, which will not only benefit Bhubaneswar but also Cuttack," said the official.

The urban development department also came up with a checklist to be provided to the civic body for monitoring of their performances under Swachh Bharat Mission on a periodic basis. The checklist includes activities related to solid waste management, toilet construction and status of waste treatment plants.

Special focus has been given to the performance of the cities when it comes to connecting with the citizens in various initiatives. It will be monitored through the Swachhata App of the Union government. The linking of the location of toilets in the Google Toilet Locator will also be done on priority basis.

Officials said if the civic body failed in any of the activities, strict action would be taken against them.

"We are going to be strict this time and take necessary action if the civic body fails to deliver. Funds will be deducted from their budget if they didn't comply with the orders," said another senior official of the department.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said they were sure of achieving the targets under the mission this time.

"We took many steps to improve the city's sanitation and succeeded to some extent. But there are other aspects that need to be looked after. We will need citizens' support in our initiatives," said Jena.