The Home Department has informed that a meeting under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister of Nagaland was held on 19 October 2024 to prepare for the upcoming mass social work in the state. Various decisions were taken during the meeting. To avoid a clash with other events, the first mass social work will now be held on 25th October 2024 instead of 21st October 2024. The date for the second mass social work (proposed for the second half of November 2024) will be communicated in due course.
It was informed that the mass social work will be conducted across the state to ensure maximum participation from the general public, in addition to government employees. All Deputy Commissioners will coordinate with various departments and local bodies for the successful execution of the mass social work. They will also constitute special teams to conduct surprise checks to ensure that the directives are implemented.
The following instructions have been issued in pursuance of the discussions held during the meeting. To ensure the mass social work’s success, full participation from all government departments and the general public has been sought. All sixty (60) members of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly have been requested to supervise the mass social work in their respective constituencies. The Deputy Commissioners of the districts will coordinate the mass social work in their respective districts and ensure maximum public participation. The DCs will also ensure the full participation of government departments and take steps to maximize the participation of the general public in coordination with the Village Councils, Town Councils, and Municipal Councils.
Participants are urged to remove any building materials stacked on roads and demolish latrines and pigsties discharging waste onto roadsides. Proper signboards for shops are expected, along with adequate nighttime lighting and repainting of damaged or defaced signage. Villages along highways, both National and State, will be responsible for vegetation clearance on road stretches, with suitable honorarium or lump-sum payments to be arranged in consultation with relevant departments. Village authorities will also be responsible for cleaning dividers along the Dimapur-Kohima Highway.
Furthermore, the District Administration and Agri-allied departments will work on a medium-term strategy for aesthetically pleasing stalls for vegetable vendors along highways. The Urban Development Department will coordinate with Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) to ensure proper sanitation along roads, prohibit uncovered meat sales in shops to maintain hygiene, and initiate a drive to eliminate plastic waste from towns, aiming for a plastic-free status by 30th November 2024.
The Departments of School Education, Higher Education, and Technical Education are expected to issue separate instructions regarding participation in the mass social work. The Home Department has cautioned that strict action may be taken against non-participants, while significant contributions during the initiative may be recognized at the District Planning and Development Boards (DPDBs) level.