Khattar reviews Swachh Bharat Mission in Mizoram, seeks time-bound cleanliness plan

Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar, delivered a sharp ultimatum to Mizoram officials on Friday, demanding a monitorable, time-bound action plan to tackle 18 identified urban cleanliness deficiencies under the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U). This direct intervention follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi recent emphasis on urban sanitation during the PRAGATI review meeting, signaling a renewed, top-down push for accountability in a flagship national scheme. The urgency from the Centre underscores persistent implementation hurdles, notably the state's slow release of its 10 percent matching share of funds, a chronic issue across various centrally sponsored programs. With the Union government already disbursing 90 percent of the SBM-U funds, Khattar's directive highlights a crucial financial bottleneck impeding progress in a challenging geographical terrain like the Northeast. The minister's focus on granular issues, including specific gaps in waste management and infrastructure, suggests a shift towards outcome-based performance. Looking ahead, Mizoram Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation Department is now under immense pressure to rapidly devise and submit a credible plan to MoHUA. Khattar's announcement of training programs for local youth in advanced legacy waste quantification technologies, with a view to extending these to other Northeastern states, indicates a long-term strategy for capacity building. The coming months will reveal if this renewed central push can finally translate into tangible improvements on the ground, setting a precedent for other states grappling with similar SBM-U challenges.