Make cities clean before making 'smart cities': Fadnavis

NAGPUR, June 12: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today called on the civic bodies to make cities clean and garbage-free before moving towards the initiative of developing them as 'smart cities'. Addressing a day-long workshop of top functionaries of municipal corporations, municipal councils, zilla parishads and their executive heads here, Fadnavis said the state government will extend financial assistance from the reserve funds to the civic bodies on basis of their performance of unit in keeping cities clean and in waste management. He further said now the civic bodies should pay attention to the solid waste management and evolve scientific technology to get rid of the problem. The Centre and the state government has already been working on waste management but at the same time the onus was on the local self government to ensure complete sanitation, Fadnavis said. State energy minister and Nagpur Guardian Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Secretary of Urban Development Manisha Mhaiskar were present on the occasion.