Lucknow: The Lucknow Municipal Corporation has planned an extensive month-long ‘Swachhata Hi Seva and Seva Sankalp Abhiyan-2026’ from September 17 to October 17, with a focus on sanitation, environmental protection, public participation and welfare initiatives across the city.
A meeting to finalise preparations was held at the Mahanagar Kalyan Mandap under the chairpersonship of Lucknow Mayor Sushma Kharakwal, following directions from Lucknow district in-charge minister Suresh Khanna. Executive Committee Vice-Chairperson Sushil Tiwari ‘Pummy’, councillors, Additional Municipal Commissioner Arun Kumar Gupta, Deputy Municipal Commissioner Rashmi Bharti and other officials attended the meeting.
The campaign will cover activities ranging from cleaning drains and sewer lines to removing plastic waste, cleaning water sources, plantation drives and health camps for sanitation workers. A nodal officer will be appointed in every municipal ward to coordinate and monitor activities.
The campaign will begin on September 17 with a city-wide drain-cleaning drive, followed by sewer-line cleaning on September 18. Special cleanliness and shramdaan programmes will also be held across all eight municipal zones.
After cleaning identified Community Toilet (CTU) sites and other locations, members of RWAs, NGOs, CSOs and SVPS will participate in a lamp-lighting programme under the ‘Sankalp for Way of Life’ initiative to promote cleanliness, environmental protection and public participation. Locations selected include Lakshman Mela Ghat in Zone 1, Lal Bahadur Shastri statue site in Zone 2, Jhulelal Vatika in Zone 3, Manoj Pandey Chauraha in Zone 4, Central Park in Zone 5, Kudia Ghat in Zone 6, Kukrail Ghat in Zone 7 and Hind Nagar martyrs’ memorial site in Zone 8.
Two-day health and safety camps for sanitation workers will be organised in each zone between September 17 and October 17. Employees of the Jal Kal department and other agencies, along with their families, will also be covered under health-related initiatives.
Special public-participation programmes will be organised on September 23 and 24. The 157-hour mega cleanliness drive scheduled from September 25 to October 2 will be extended to 200 hours, adding 43 hours to the original schedule.
The Jal Kal department will also undertake comprehensive cleaning of water tanks zone-wise through its manpower and the Suez India teams. A plastic-removal and awareness campaign will run from September 27 to October 17.
On World Tourism Day, September 27, special cleanliness drives will be conducted at tourist locations across the city. Water bodies will be cleaned between October 3 and 5. ‘Swachhata Se Samriddhi’ will be observed on September 28, followed by Swachh Bharat Diwas on October 1.
Schools will organise painting and debate competitions on the theme ‘Mere Sapnon Ka Bharat’, involving children and young people in cleanliness and environmental initiatives. Short social-media reels will also be produced to disseminate information about welfare schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, National Rural Livelihood Mission and self-help groups.
The civic body will undertake visible facelifting and safe staging of selected locations after cleaning, with decoration, rangoli and other activities planned at prominent sites. On October 9 and 10, women will be educated about source segregation of wet and dry waste and home composting.
A special ‘Swachh Office’ programme will be conducted at municipal offices on October 6. Plantation and environmental activities will be carried out from October 11 to 17 under the ‘Swachh Parv and Harit Parv’ initiative, with plantation drives also planned on Tuesdays during Navratri.
Special programmes will be held on the birth anniversaries of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya on September 25 and Mahatma Gandhi on October 2, featuring cleanliness drives, shramdaan and plantation activities.
Health camps will be organised at different locations during the campaign, while information about government welfare schemes will be provided to citizens to help eligible beneficiaries access assistance. Officials will also visit old-age homes, orphanages and senior-care centres to review facilities and promote awareness concerning the welfare of vulnerable groups.
With festivals approaching, the municipal corporation will also focus on making roads pothole-free. Major roads, markets, schools, colleges, hospitals and ghats will receive special cleaning, decoration and lighting arrangements. Traders’ associations will be encouraged to install lamps, decorative strings and lighting in commercial areas.
Mayor Sushma Kharakwal directed officials to involve self-help groups, civil society organisations, traders’ associations, neighbourhood committees and citizens in the campaign. A monitoring committee will oversee implementation, while ward-level nodal officers will coordinate activities on the ground.
The meeting emphasised sustained cleanliness work throughout the month and greater public participation to make the Seva Sankalp and Swachhata Hi Seva Abhiyan-2026 a city-wide initiative.
