Delhi to hold month-long Seva Sankalp Abhiyan from September 17, projects worth ₹13,820 crore lined up

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New Delhi: The Delhi government will launch a month-long public service campaign, the ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’, from September 17 to October 17 to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta announced on Monday.

The campaign will see government departments roll out a range of public welfare activities, including blood donation drives, health camps for senior citizens, worker registration, cleanliness campaigns and plantation programmes. Development projects worth around ₹13,820 crore are also scheduled to be inaugurated or have their foundation stones laid during the month-long campaign.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP state office, Gupta said the initiative was intended to turn the Prime Minister’s birthday into a month of public service and outreach.

She said the spirit of service should remain at the centre of governance and that government power should be used as a means to serve citizens rather than as a privilege.

The campaign will begin on September 17 with a mega blood donation camp organised by the Health Department. The government has set a target of collecting 2,500 units of blood in a single day.

Health check-up camps will also be organised for around 25,000 senior citizens across Delhi, with the Health and Social Welfare departments working together on the initiative.

The Labour Department will conduct registration and health check-ups for workers and construction workers during the campaign. The government said the registration exercise would help eligible workers access welfare schemes and other government services.

A major initiative under the campaign will be the launch of Delhi’s State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (SOTTO) platform.

According to the Chief Minister, the platform has been developed along the lines of the system operated by the Central government and will be used to spread awareness about organ donation and encourage more people to register as donors. The Women and Child Development Department will also conduct welfare activities for children living in child care centres.

The Yamuna will be a major focus of the campaign. Gupta said projects worth approximately ₹8,000 crore related to cleaning and rejuvenating the river would be inaugurated or have their foundation stones laid during the campaign

The government will also organise extensive cleanliness drives along the Yamuna and across Delhi’s wards and Assembly constituencies. Under its ‘Clean Delhi, Green Delhi’ push, the Environment Department has set a target of planting 70 lakh trees and saplings. Plantation drives will be held in every ward as part of the month-long programme. Young people will also be brought into the campaign through the ‘Mere Sapnon Ka Bharat’ competition.

Painting, speech and reel-making contests will be organised around the theme of the India that young people envision. The government expects around five lakh students from nearly 5,000 schools to participate.

Students from Delhi government schools, private schools, municipal schools and New Delhi Municipal Council schools will be included, along with university students.

On the evening of September 17, the government will organise the ‘Aashirwad ka Diya’ programme, under which beneficiaries across Delhi will light lamps at their homes to mark PM Modi’s birthday and convey their greetings.

Gupta said the programme was also intended to mark PM Modi’s 25 years in public service, from his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister to his current role as Prime Minister.

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Another initiative, ‘Namo Seva Ki Ankahi Kahaniyan’, will highlight the experiences of beneficiaries whose lives have been positively affected by government schemes. Their stories will be documented and presented to the public through videos and street plays.

The campaign will also recognise Delhi’s anganwadi workforce. The Chief Minister said all anganwadi workers would be felicitated under the ‘Aangan Ka Milan’ programme.

Delhi has 10,897 anganwadi centres and around 21,350 anganwadi workers, according to the government. A ‘Seva Jyoti Kalash Yatra’ will also be organised, with public representatives participating alongside citizens. One of the campaign’s key outreach programmes will be the ‘Seva Setu Abhiyan’, under which three-day camps will be organised in all 70 Assembly constituencies.

Officials from different departments will be available at these camps to explain Central and Delhi government schemes, assist eligible residents with registrations and help people access government services.

The government will also organise ‘Sushasan Seva Samvad’ sessions, giving residents an opportunity to interact directly with officials and learn about ongoing projects, schemes and governance initiatives.

The campaign will include an ‘Innovation Challenge’ aimed at giving young innovators a platform to showcase their ideas. Delhi is among five centres selected nationally for the initiative, and participants from neighbouring states will also be connected with the Delhi centre.

Under ‘Seva Ke Rang, Rashtra Ke Sang’, rangoli and mandala art activities will be organised around themes of national unity, education and environmental protection. A large human rangoli involving thousands of participants is also being planned.

Beyond the welfare programmes, the government plans to use the campaign to showcase its development agenda. Gupta said projects across different Delhi government departments, with a combined value of approximately ₹13,820 crore, would be inaugurated or have their foundation stones laid during the month.

She also highlighted infrastructure projects undertaken in Delhi and the surrounding region during PM Modi’s tenure, including the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Delhi-Dehradun Expressway, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Dwarka Expressway, UER-2 and the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways.

According to Gupta, the total value of infrastructure projects approved, under implementation or proposed for Delhi during the Prime Minister’s tenure stands at around ₹12.25 lakh crore.

She also pointed to projects including Jewar Airport, the Regional Rapid Transit System, Delhi Metro expansion and the signal-free corridor at Dhaula Kuan, as well as venues such as Yashobhoomi and Bharat Mandapam.

Gupta said the infrastructure expansion had strengthened Delhi’s connectivity and helped the capital host major international events, including the recently held 18th BRICS Summit.

Concluding her address, the Chief Minister extended birthday wishes to PM Modi and said she hoped he would remain healthy and continue serving the country.

(Source: ANI)

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