New Delhi: Immediately after taking charge as the new ministers in the Narendra Modi government, Housing & Urban Affairs Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, Health Minister JP Nadda as well as Minister of State for DoNER Sukanta Mazumdar set their agenda of overall development clear.
On day one of their new innings, the trio held meetings with senior officials of their respective ministries. Manohar Lal Khattar who took charge as cabinet minister in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) held a joint review meeting with senior ministry officials along with Minister of State Tokhan Sahu.
Khattar stressed the need to carry forward the important work on ensuring clean and green cities and appreciated the efforts under the Swachh Bharat Mission to convert waste to wealth as part of the mission to make all our cities 'Garbage Free'.
Appreciating the objectives of AMRUT mission to make cities water secure and ensure universal coverage of water supply in 4,900 ULBs and sewerage & septage management in 500 AMRUT cities, he called for renewed focus on ensuring people's participation in AMRUT projects.
Highlighting the importance of the Metro rail in easing the travel experience of urban areas, the Minister reiterated that the Ministry's efforts to ensure timely completion of all metro projects would be redoubled, as the metro has become the preferred mode of transport that is convenient and safe for all segments of society.
He noted that the projects completed under the Smart Cities Mission had set new benchmarks in urban planning and governance in the country. The use of technology for better urban management has increased in these cities and the urban services in each of the 100 cities have significantly improved in diverse fields like crime tracking, safety & security of citizens, transport management, solid waste management, water supply, disaster management etc.
Khattar also highlighted the need to further increase the reach of the benefits of PM Svanidhi and DAY–NULM Missions to urban poor in all parts of the country, so as to address multiple dimensions of urban poverty and improve their source of income and livelihoods.
Speaking about the importance of owning a roof over one's head, he said the PMAY is working to fulfill the lifelong dream of millions and therefore the Prime Minister's announcement of making another one crore houses under the PMAY (Urban) will be a key priority of the Ministry.
He assured effective state level reviews would also be undertaken periodically to ensure timely completion of all housing projects. Khattar also took charge of the Power Ministry.
Health Minister Nadda interacted with senior officials of the Union Health Ministry after taking charge where he was briefed about the ongoing projects. In the first regime of the Narendra Modi government, Nadda held the position of Union Health Minister from November 2014 to May 2019.
On the other hand, Sukanta Majumdar assumed charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Development for Northeastern Region (DoNER) Ministry. Immediately after taking charge over the exclusive ministry for the development of Northeast (DoNER), Majumdar said that urgent steps will be taken to resolve the present crisis in Manipur.
"Under the leadership of Narendra Modi, our government will take strong steps to control the situation in Manipur," said Majumdar. He also interacted with the senior officers of DoNER ministry and talked about his vision for development of the North East Region.
