| Secretary RDD reviews draft O&M, FSSM policies | | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, Apr 23: Secretary, Rural Development Department (RDD) and Panchayati Raj, Mohammad Aijaz Asad, today chaired a meeting to review the draft Operations and Maintenance (O&M) and Faecal Sludge and Septage Management (FSSM) policies, which are in the final stages prior to notification, under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G).
The meeting was attended by Director General Rural Sanitation Anoo Malhotra, Director Finance Umar Khan, Superintending Engineers REW (Jammu/Kashmir), Deputy Directors Rural Sanitation and other senior officers.
The Secretary directed that key features be refined and aligned before notification, particularly with regard to enforcement provisions and a clear appellate mechanism.
He emphasized that the Assistant Commissioner Panchayat (ACP) should act as the appellate authority, with oversight at the Directorate level.
Reviewing alignment with the Solid Waste Management Rules, he reiterated that Panchayats will be empowered to levy user charges and impose penalties for non-compliance, especially for failure to ensure source segregation.
"Source segregation is the cornerstone of effective waste management and must be strictly enforced," he said, stressing segregation into dry, wet, sanitary and special waste streams.
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