Ministry of Earth Sciences Successfully Concludes Special Campaign 3.0: 62 Cleanliness Drives and Resolution of Public Grievances

The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) successfully concluded the Special Campaign 3.0 through a slew of activities conducted at its headquarters (HQ) in Prithvi Bhavan, New Delhi, and ten institutes at various locations in the country.

The Special Campaign 3.0 of the Government of India was initiated on October 2, 2023, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our nation. It continued up to October 31, 2023, and focused on institutionalizing Swachhata (i.e., cleanliness) towards good governance, such as disposal of matters of public grievances, scrap, and unused/closed files, and cleanliness drives, including revamping office spaces. It is aligned with the Swachh Bharat vision of the Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi.

As prep for the Special Campaign 3.0, the Secretary, MoES, Dr M Ravichandran, reviewed the status of MoES HQ premises with senior officials of MoES in September 2023. The MoES and its institutes conducted 62 cleanliness drives as part of the Special Campaign 3.0 in October 2023. These helped free up 7,375 square feet of space. In the spirit of public service and taking forward the idea of Jan Bhagidari (i.e., public participation), MoES also facilitated cleanliness drives at schools, beaches, bus stops, hospital complexes, ponds, parks, etc. The disposal of scrap generated monetary gains of rupees five lakhs four thousand three hundred and thirty-three (INR 5,04,333/-) for the ministry.

Photo: Glimpses of a few MoES cleanliness drives at various locations: (top) beach (left), pond (centre and right), (down) park (left), hospital (centre), and office premises (right).

As part of the cleanliness drive, the Ministry revamped an old store room into a lively employee recreation room with indoor activities such as table tennis, carrom, chess, and yoga, aligned with the Fit India Movement. The Recreation room is aimed to enhance mindfulness, efficiency, and camaraderie among employees and staff of the ministry. It is operational during lunch hours and two hours in the evening post office hours. It was inaugurated by the Secretary, MoES, Dr M Ravichandran, on October 30, 2023.

Photos: Recreation Room at MoES HQ made out of an old store: inauguration by Secretary, MoES (left) and glimpses of the facility (centre and right).  

A 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) kiosk was set up at MoES HQ to emphasise office waste collection and segregation. Urban Local Bodies provided training and support, and select Self Help Groups showcased and displayed products made out of waste, raising awareness and fostering women’s empowerment, skill development, and entrepreneurship.

Photo: The 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle) to promote waste management at MoES HQ emphasised through training (left) and the setting up of a kiosk by self-help groups (right).

During the month-long campaign, the ministry reviewed 9,577 physical and 524 electronic files, of which 2,662 and 20 were marked for weeding out and closure, respectively. All pending matters of public grievances (38 applications and 17 appeals) and all references from MPs (6) were addressed.

Updates and developments of the Special Campaign 3.0 were updated on the SCDPM portal (https://scdpm.nic.in/) and disseminated to the public through 121 social media posts on MoES handles @moesgoi. These included 33 posts each on Twitter and Facebook, 30 on Instagram, and 25 on Koo. The combined reach of Special Campaign 3.0 through social media (as of November 01, 2023) for @moesgoi was more than 45,000, demonstrating successful dissemination and awareness.

Figure: Statistics of posts (left) and reach (right) of the Special Campaign 3.0 on MoES social media @moesgoi. 

MoES comprises of HQ at Prithvi Bhavan, Lodhi Road, in New Delhi; five autonomous institutes: Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services in Hyderabad, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research in Goa, National Institute of Ocean Technology in Chennai, and National Centre for Earth Science Studies in Kerala; two subordinate offices: India Meteorological Department in New Delhi and National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting in Noida; three attached offices: National Centre for Seismology in New Delhi, Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology CMLRE in Kochi, and National Centre for Coastal Research in Chennai; and the Borehole Geophysics Research laboratory (BGRL), Karad, Maharashtra.