Staff Correspondent

State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Mir Shahe Alam has directed 20 monitoring teams formed on the Prime Minister's instructions to take strict measures to ensure cleanliness and make Dhaka a clean and livable city.

"There will be no compromise on cleanliness. If an unclean environment or Aedes mosquito larvae are found in government residential buildings, flat allotments will be cancelled directly and hefty fines will be imposed on those violating the rules," he said.

The state minister made the remarks while addressing a meeting on the implementation and monitoring of cleanliness activities in Dhaka city at Shapla Hall of the Prime Minister's Office in Tejgaon today.

State Minister for Housing and Public Works Ahammad Sohel Monzoor attended the meeting as a special guest.

Shahe Alam said the Prime Minister had been making earnest efforts to make Dhaka a livable city since taking office and had personally visited various government hospitals and residential quarters to assess their conditions.

However, he expressed concern over the discovery of Aedes mosquito larvae and serious negligence during cleanliness drives at large government residential complexes, luxury apartments and hospitals.

Addressing the members of the monitoring committees, he said they were working in the field as representatives of the Prime Minister and instructed them to take legal action and impose hefty fines wherever irregularities or mosquito larvae were found.

"If government employees cannot keep their own residential quarters clean, they are not entitled to live in government accommodation," the state minister added.

On beautification and infrastructure development, Shahe Alam said the Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha (RAJUK) and Dhaka South City Corporation were working to clean Hatirjheel, Dhanmondi, Banani and Gulshan lakes and restore their former beauty.

He also said initiatives were underway to re-excavate 29 canals under Dhaka North City Corporation and 26 canals under Dhaka South City Corporation, alongside the construction of guide walls and installation of netting.

The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister's Office Principal Secretary A B M Abdus Sattar and attended by members of the 20 committees tasked with monitoring cleanliness activities across Dhaka city.