Bhubaneswar, 11 September (H.S.): A delegation of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC), led by Mayor Sulochana Das, met Housing and Urban Development Minister Dr Krushna Chandra Mahapatra at his official residence on Friday and presented the trophies and certificates received for the city’s outstanding performance in the national ward-level clean-air assessment.

The delegation included Deputy Mayor Manjulata Kanhar, BMC Commissioner Chanchal Rana, Deputy Commissioner (Sanitation) N. Ganesh Babu, Chairperson of the Sanitation Standing Committee and corporators representing Wards 30, 36 and 22.

In a significant achievement, BMC’s Ward 36 and Ward 30 secured top positions in the national ward-level clean-air assessment. Ward 13 of the Rourkela Municipal Corporation also secured a top position, highlighting Odisha’s efforts to improve urban air quality.

The recognition underscores Odisha’s decentralised and community-driven approach to clean-air management, with emphasis on localised planning, citizen participation and sustained implementation of environmental measures at the grassroots level. The performance of the wards also demonstrates the contribution of citizens, elected representatives and urban local bodies towards creating cleaner and healthier urban environments.

Congratulating the BMC team, Minister Dr Mahapatra expressed happiness over the achievement and appreciated the collective efforts of elected representatives, officials and citizens. He said the recognition was a matter of pride for Bhubaneswar and Odisha and urged the BMC team to work with renewed commitment to achieve better results in the coming years.

The Minister emphasised that maintaining clean air is a continuous responsibility requiring sustained efforts, effective local action and active community participation. He called upon the BMC to build on the achievement and further strengthen ward-level initiatives to make Bhubaneswar a healthier, greener and more liveable city.

The BMC delegation thanked the Minister for his encouragement and assured him that the Corporation would continue strengthening clean-air initiatives and promoting greater citizen participation across the city.

Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda