Siddaramaiah declines to head task force on Swachh Bharat

Bengaluru, Mar 21: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday said that he has declined an offer by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be the convenor of a task force to implement "Swachh Bharat Abhiyan" and instead preferred to be just a member. "I have been made convenor.

I have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying I would prefer to be a member, not convenor of the task force to implement Swachhh Bharat Abhiyan," he said here. The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) has notified three sub-groups as decided during the first meeting chaired by Modi.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will chair the sub-group on centrally sponsored schemes (CSS), Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar on skill development and Siddaramaiah on Swachh Bharat. Each sub-group has about 10-11 chief ministers.

Siddaramaiah said he has requested Modi to replace him with someone else as he is busy. "Please make someone else, not me.

I want to be a member. I don't have time," he said. Swachh Bharath sub-group will decide on institutional mechanisms and technological inputs for ensuring that commitment to Swachh Bharat becomes a part of our life in perpetuity.

PTI