More Community involvement needed
The state government’s Mission Clean Punjab aimed at improving sanitation through daily inspections, strict accountability and continuous monitoring is a welcome initiative. Administrative pressure can certainly accelerate action, ensure timely waste collection and compel officials to address long-pending issues, such as garbage accumulation, sewer blockages and unhygienic public spaces. However, lasting change can’t be achieved through inspections alone. Sustainable cleanliness requires adequate infrastructure, efficient waste management systems, regular maintenance of sewer networks and active public participation. Citizens must cooperate by avoiding littering and promptly reporting civic issues. Past experiences show many cleanliness drives begin with enthusiasm but gradually lose momentum soon as monitoring weakens. Therefore, Mission Clean Punjab will succeed only if the accountability mechanism remains consistent and transparent in the long run. If implemented sincerely with community involvement and adequate resources, the initiative can transform cities; otherwise, recurring sanitation problems may continue to undermine its objectives.
Novin Christopher
Locals should recycle waste
No government scheme or mission can be successful without active public support. Sanitation workers, their supervisors and inspecting authorities are tasked with the job of cleaning but it is useless if residents continue irresponsible littering. It is akin to mopping the floor with a water tap left open. The residents need to be motivated to recycle waste. The means to do so must be publicised. About 95 per cent of all trash comprising paper, cardboard, polythene, plastic bottles, textiles and aluminium cans can be recycled into useful products. Industries engaged in it should be facilitated and supported as it may not be financially attractive. In case the public can’t recycle something on their own, they should dispose of it in a manner that waste collectors can sort and send it for recycling. Such civic behaviour should be encouraged through persuasion and enforcement. In an absence of recycling, the quantum of trash is beyond management.
Ravinder Mittal
Address infra deficits
Though Mission Clean Punjab represents a significant push for accountability, lasting change will depend on whether it can overcome deep-rooted infrastructural deficits and inconsistent enforcement. It leverages direct administrative pressure to force immediate action. The pressure is an outcome of a failure to achieve the targets in 2025. For proper implementation of the campaign, Ludhiana needs a policy which has to be implemented in a phased manner. Senior officers, including the Municipal Corporation (MC) Commissioner, must inspect their zones daily with location sharing to verify presence. Officials must adhere to firm deadlines for tasks like making the city pothole and manhole-free. Cities must be ranked weekly. Plagued by garbage piles and sewer blockages, Ludhiana was ranked the second dirtiest city across the country in 2025. It was a result of infrastructure collapse with a massive 20 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste at the Tajpur Road dumpsite.
Mohammad Saleem Farooqui
Mission focussed on immediate results
Mission Clean Punjab is focussed on short-term results and visible progress. Aggressive administrative pressure is forcing immediate accountability, which is why senior officials are conducting field inspections instead of desk governance. We already have examples of immediate action and show-cause notices, like in Moga. The shift away from traditional methods — by deploying advanced mechanical sweepers, electric sanitation vehicles and digital tracking technologies — provides workers with the proper tools to maintain streets.
Sucha Singh Sagar
Issue explained
Mission Clean Punjab has set ambitious goals with daily inspections and strict accountability. On paper, the approach promises discipline and visible results, but it is to be seen whether administrative pressure alone can lead to change. In the past, city grappled with garbage piles and sewer blockages, with the issues returning once short-lived campaigns lost momentum. Sustainable change requires citizen participation, long-term investment in waste management systems, and consistent upkeep of drains and sewers. Without community ownership and structural improvements, inspections risk becoming routine paperwork rather than drivers of reform.
Question for next week
Who bears the responsibility when civic infrastructure collapses repeatedly, like the road cave-ins near Saggu Chowk. Does the onus lie on contractors who did the work or the administration officials who approved it without checking quality?
Suggestions in not more than 150 words can be sent to ludhianadesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (July 2).
