Delhi’s Seva Sankalp campaign will begin on September 17 with a month-long programme combining public service activities with the inauguration and foundation laying of around 13,000 projects, according to Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. The campaign will include a mega blood donation drive, health checks for senior citizens, sanitation work, Yamuna-cleaning projects and plantation activities across the capital.
Gupta said at a press conference that the government would target the collection of 2,500 units of blood in a single day on September 17. The Social Welfare Department, working with the Health Department, will organise health check-up camps for 25,000 senior citizens during the campaign.
The Labour Department will run a special drive to register workers and construction workers in Delhi and conduct health examinations for them. The government is also preparing to promote organ donation. An official State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation platform, developed on the lines of the Centre’s NOTTO platform, is scheduled to be launched during the campaign.
The Women and Child Development Department will organise welfare activities for children at child care centres and orphanages. The Urban Development Department and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi will work together on special cleanliness drives in every ward and assembly constituency.
The Yamuna is a central component of the campaign. Gupta said projects related to cleaning the river, estimated at around Rs 8,000 crore, would be inaugurated or receive foundation stones during the month. The government will also present its forthcoming plans for Yamuna cleaning to the public. The announcement did not provide a project-wise list, implementation schedule or funding details for these works.
Under the Green Delhi-Clean Delhi mission, the Environment Department will conduct plantation drives in every ward with the participation of various organisations. The campaign will advance Delhi’s target of planting 70 lakh trees, although the announcement did not specify how many saplings would be planted during the month or how survival would be monitored.
The campaign will also involve schools and universities. Drawing, speech and reel competitions on the theme ‘My Dream India’ will be organised for students. The government aims to involve around five lakh students from approximately 5,000 government, private, New Delhi Municipal Council and municipal schools. Students will be invited to present their ideas about a developed India through drawings, speeches and short videos.
The Delhi government and Delhi BJP said the programme would extend beyond party workers and include beneficiaries, elected representatives and organisational workers. Beneficiaries are also expected to light an ‘Aashirwad ka Deep’ at their homes on September 17 to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday. ASHA workers and anganwadi workers will be honoured during the campaign, while the BJP’s organisational districts will conduct separate service activities and public outreach programmes.
The campaign’s first scheduled event is the mega blood donation camp on September 17. Further details of the 13,000 projects, the Yamuna-related works and the ward-level programme are expected to be presented as the month-long initiative begins.
