UP govt working on minimum wage guarantee for sanitation workers: CM Adityanath

GORAKHPUR: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday said the government is working on a minimum wage guarantee for sanitation workers across the state, adding that a committee has already been formed in this regard.

He further said concrete action in this regard will be taken soon.

Addressing the 'Safai Mitra Suraksha aur Samman Sammelan' at the Abhaynandan Inter College ground, Adityanath announced that along with the minimum wage, arrangements for housing and welfare schemes for sanitation workers will also be ensured.

The UP chief minister also inaugurated and laid foundation stones of as many as 176 development projects worth Rs 116 crore of the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation, the UP government said in a statement.

He also launched the e-service portal and a welfare fund for sanitation workers and announced an accident insurance facility of up to Rs 10 lakh for them.

Adityanath distributed cheques to the dependents of four Safai Mitras from the welfare fund in addition to uniforms and lunch boxes to sanitation workers and vehicle drivers. He also flagged off door-to-door garbage collection vehicles.

''The soul of beauty lies in cleanliness. No matter how beautiful we make the city, how wide the roads are, if there is no cleanliness, all the efforts go in vain. So, we must respect the workers who are dedicated to ensuring cleanliness,'' Adityanath said.

He further said that sanitation workers should not only receive a minimum wage guarantee, but also residential facilities. They should benefit from schemes such as ration cards, health insurance coverage, and schemes like Ujjwala Yojna, he said, lauding the initiatives of the Gorakhpur Municipal Corporation in this regard.

The UP chief minister added that Gorakhpur's ranking in the cleanliness survey has improved from 74 to 22 with the efforts of the sanitation workers. ''Gorakhpur has received a three-star ranking in the Garbage-Free City category. Gorakhpur is now recognised as a good and beautiful city. It is counted among the best cities in the country. The maximum credit for this achievement should go to the sanitation workers,'' he said.

He added, ''We should work together to improve the cleanliness ranking even further. Our target should be to be among the 10 cleanest cities in the next survey and among the top three eventually. To achieve this, public awareness needs to be increased.'' The chief minister directed corporators to form swachhta (cleanliness) committees and raise awareness among people regarding not throwing garbage on the roads or in drains, and to treat sanitation workers with respect.