Chandigarh, June 25: In a decisive move to strengthen Haryana’s monsoon preparedness through direct field-level accountability, Chief Secretary Sh. Anurag Rastogi has ordered a statewide deployment of IAS and HCS officers to physically inspect urban drains across all districts and verify the quality of the ongoing pre-monsoon de-silting campaign.
Chairing a comprehensive review of drain-cleaning operations across all 87 Urban Local Bodies in 23 districts, the Chief Secretary directed all Municipal Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners to ensure that senior administrative officers fan out across the state to conduct on-ground inspections of drainage infrastructure within the next three days.
Under the special monitoring exercise, every IAS and HCS officer has been assigned the responsibility of inspecting drains within a minimum five-kilometre stretch within his or her jurisdiction. Officers will be required to upload detailed inspection reports, supported by field observations and photographs, on the Urban Local Bodies Department’s online portal, enabling real-time monitoring, transparency and accountability.
Making it clear that monsoon preparedness cannot remain confined to office reviews, Sh. Rastogi stressed that senior officers must personally verify the quality of de-silting work, identify vulnerable locations, detect any deficiencies and ensure immediate corrective action wherever required.
The Chief Secretary said the State Government is adopting a zero-tolerance approach towards negligence in pre-monsoon preparedness. He directed district administrations to ensure that every drain is inspected, every bottleneck is removed and every pending work is completed before the onset of the monsoon to minimise the risk of urban flooding and waterlogging.
The Chief Secretary also reviewed the progress of the extensive drain de-silting campaign being undertaken across all urban local bodies in the state. Describing the drive as one of Haryana’s most comprehensive urban preparedness initiatives, Sh. Rastogi said the State Government has adopted a proactive approach by beginning drain cleaning well ahead of the monsoon.
Commissioner and Secretary, Urban Local Bodies, Sh. Ashok Kumar Meena, CEO, Panchkula MDA, Sh. K. Makarand Pandurang, and other senior officers were present in the meeting.