Water scarcity and skill training for workers among issues discussed between L-G & CM

New Delhi: Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday discussed a range of issues, including water scarcity and imparting skill training to workers of the unorganised sector here, an official statement said.

At their weekly meeting held at Raj Niwas, the L-G and the CM discussed the "prevalent and recurring issue of water scarcity" in Delhi and stressed on a sustainable way forward that entails making the city self-sufficient in meeting its water requirements, it said.

"The Lt Governor assured the CM that he would take up the issue with and at all appropriate levels to address it in the interim," the statement said.

Earlier this month, Kejriwal had said he will meet the new LG every Friday for "better coordination" and to effectively address issues concerning the capital.

It was decided that a meeting of all departments concerned will be held in presence of the L-G and the CM on June 14 wherein the officers will be asked to present concrete plans detailing the number of sink holes that they would put in place before June 30 for absorbing rain water and prevent waterlogging, apart from recharging the water table, the statement said.

The L-G also discussed the idea of planting suitable bamboo varieties on the peripheries of Delhi and sandalwood trees on government land meant for plantation. He underlined that while the sandal trees over a period of time would develop into monetisable asset for the government, the bamboo would ensure containment of dust pollution that flows in from the waste apart from enriching oxygen levels, the statement said.

Saxena also brought up the issue of skill training and distribution of enabling toolkits to 75,000 unskilled and semi-skilled workers in the unorganized sectors like pottery, carpentry, shoe-making and blacksmithery among others to bring the most marginalised into the main stream of development, it said. It was agreed by the L-G and the CM to immediately start work for the identification of individual and group beneficiaries for the roll out of this program, the statement said.

The L-G also invoked training and distribution of machinery for making cow dung logs, cotton wicks, diyas etc. from cow dung. The L-G underlined that the cow dung logs could be used as an alternative to wood for cremation purposes.

Meanwhile, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has directed the NDMC to come up with a plan to beautify, clean and declutter flyovers in its area.

The L-G, who visited the NDMC area on Thursday, also directed that the work of restoration of the iconic Gole Market be completed at the earliest.

During his visit to the Integrated Command and Control Centre, he asked the officials to explore the possibility of replicating it by the MCD in its various zones. "Stressing again on uniformity of design, aesthetics and public convenience, the LG directed officials to come up with a plan to beautify, clean, improve and declutter all flyovers in the NDMC area, including the Ranjit Singh Flyover connecting CP to JLN Marg, Lala Lajpat Rai Flyover connecting Defence Colony and the ones' near Oberoi Hotel and Neela Gumbad amongst others," a statement from the LG office said.