VISAKHAPATNAM : For pollution control and improving the green cover in Vizag city, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu Tuesday has instructed industrialists to constitute a 10-member committee comprising various Public Sector Units (PSUs) and the district administration. He wanted the officials to conduct the committee meetings at regular intervals in a month to review the situation and take corrective steps to make Visakhapatnam a green city.
Interacting with the representatives of PSUs, Navy, Pollution Control Board and the district authorities here Tuesday, the Chief Minister urged everyone to play an active role in making the city a pollution-free city as part of the Smart City Initiative. “We are planning to conduct sanitation and cleanliness drives at all educational institutions from October 2 to 12 as part of Swachh Andhra Pradesh and urge the PSUs to play a vital role in the initiative,” he stated. He revealed that the State Government would be soon setting up the chief engineer’s office of the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) in Vizag to make the city pollution free.
The Central government has promised to allocate `10 crore for construction of jetties at feasible spots along the coastline and has sought proposals in this regard. The local cargo berth would be constructed at a cost of `20 crore at the Visakhapatnam Port. He also assured to extend necessary support to the PSUs for their operations as well as social responsibility initiatives for preventing pollution.
Chandrababu Naidu wanted the PSUs to extend their support in developing sports infrastructure in Visakhapatnam for turning it into a sports city. He also asked the NTPC authorities to examine the feasibility and prepare an action plan for laying roads using
‘Fly Ash’ produced from its unit here. Besides providing employment to youth by conducting skill development programmes, the government would be developing human resources by setting up a petroleum university, a railway university and also a logistics university in the State.