Visakhapatnam urban local bodies shortlisted for PM Awards

After securing the ninth rank in Swachh Survekshan this year, Visakhapatnam is vying for the prestigious Prime Minister’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration. The urban local bodies (ULCs) in Visakhapatnam district, i.e., the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) along with Yelamanchili and Narsipatnam municipalities have formed into a cluster to take part in the PM Awards 2020.

This year, the PM’s Awards for Excellence in Public Administration have been restructured to recognise the contribution of the best performing districts in facilitating the implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission. Under the District Performance Indicators Program (DPIP), Visakhapatnam has been shortlisted in the category of ‘Promoting People’s Movements through Jan Bhagidari Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban)’. The urban local bodies with the maximum people’s participation at the district level will be conferred with the award. It is to be noted that Visakhapatnam is one of the ten districts contending in the category.

The central screening committee for the PM Awards 2020 inspected various parts of Visakhapatnam on Saturday. The screening committee will evaluate the shortlisted applications on the basis of presentations, and analyse the feedback of citizens/stakeholders. Ahead of the screening committee’s visit, Visakhapatnam Collector V Vinay Chand and GVMC Commissioner G Srijana visited several areas of the city and monitored the cleaning practices. They spoke to resident welfare associations about solid waste management in their colonies.

The final list of awardees will be announced after the shortlisted officials conduct presentations before the screening committee. As many as 2885 nominations were submitted for the Prime Minister’s Awards 2020. Apart from the DPIP, the PM’S Awards also include Namami Gange Program, Aspirational Districts Program, and Innovation categories.