21st, August, 2022

 

Topic: 56th State Level Football Tournament

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

• The 56th State Level Football Tournament concluded.

Where it was held?

• Mini Stadium, Kalpa, Kinnaur district.

 

Who all participated?

• Teams from all districts of the state except Lahul-Spiti participated in this competition.

 

Who won the final?

• The final match was played between the teams of Una and Mandi, in which the team of Una won three, one over the team of Mandi.

(Source: Divya Himachal)

 

 

Topic: Atal Shreshtha Shahar Yojana

 

Importance: Himachal HPAS Prelims and Mains

 

What is the news?

• Municipal Council Kullu and Municipal Council Nahan have become rich in the ambitious Atal Shreshtha Shahar Yojana of the state government. The two municipal councils received an award of Rs 1 crore each for their excellent work in various fields.
• Atal Shreshtha Shahar Award has been received by Baddi Municipal Council for its functioning of 2021.
• Chaupal, Gagret and Kotkhai bagged the first, second and third prizes respectively in Nagar Panchayats for their excellent work in the year 2020. The three Nagar Panchayats received Rs 75, 50 and 25 lakh.

 

About Atal Shreshtha Shahar Yojana:

 

• Urban areas are often called the „engines of growth‟. The number of urban areas has been growing across the State and the existing urban areas have witnessed the growth in population.
• It is the responsibility of the State to provide various facilities to people residing in urban areas. Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) provide an essential link between the State Government and the urban population.
• ULBs provide a number of basic services to the urban population like sanitation, parks, roads, garbage collection, street lights etc as a result of which the role that ULBs play in the quality of life of people is substantial. A better and clean environment is sine qua non of healthy living. In order to raise the standard of services being provided to the people by the ULBs, it is essential to foster competitive spirit among various ULB so that they strive to provide better services to the urban populace of the State.

 

In pursuance of this initiative, the State Government had introduced “Atal Shresth Shahar Yojna” (ASSY) with effect from 1st April, 2018 to select the best Municipal Council and best Nagar Panchayat. In the budget speech for the year 2020-21 the Hon‟ble Chief Minister of H.P. has enlarged the scope of “Atal Shrestha Shahar Yojna” to cover top three  Municipal Councils and top three Nagar Panchayats to compete for the Puruskar(Award).

 

Aim of Scheme:

• The scheme aims to reward and incentivize best performing three  Municipal Councils and three Nagar Panchyats on the basis of indicators on Swachh Survekshan (year to year basis), public service delivery, increase in income, fund utilization, public infrastructure and Audit Paras settled.
• The top performing ULBs will be felicitated with “Atal Shrestha Shahar Puruskar” by the Hon‟ble Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh on 25th December of every year on the birth anniversary of Late Sh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee (former Prime Minister of India).

 

Eligibility Criteria:

I. The scheme is applicable to all the Municipal Councils & Nagar Panchayats of the State.
II. It is mandatory for all the Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats of the state to participate in the scheme.
III. There will be no bar on any Municipal Councils & Nagar Panchayats to participate in the scheme even if it has won ASSY prize in the preceding year(s).
IV. The ULB making a false claim will be penalized suitably by deduction of its grant and disciplinary action would be initiated.

 

Indicator for Assessment:

• The top performing Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats will be selected on the basis of their performance on various indicators as given below:

 

The ULBs will be ranked on the basis of the score obtained in Swachh Survekshan of the preceding year and score obtained in another five (5) State Parameters. The format for self-assessment by ULBs and assessment to be made by the assessment committee is given at Annexure-A.

Note:

1)  The first parameter that is Swachh Survekshan will be evaluated as per Swachh Servekshancriteria fixed by GoI on year to year basis.
2) Marks obtained by ULB in the assessment made by GoI in Swachh Survekshan of previous years will be taken into account for inclusion every year.

 

Incentive Pattern:

• The incentive pattern to ASSY prize winners i.e. Municipal Council and Nagar Panchayat will be as under:

 

Note: In case of a tie for a particular position, the prize money will be distributed equally amongst equal scoring ULBs.

 

Spending of Award Money:

I. The award money shall be given to the Municipal Councils or Nagar Panchayats or, as the case may be, as an untied grant.
II. The award money shall not form part of the income of the Municipal Councils or Nagar Panchayats.
III. The award money will not be spent on payment of salaries/wages, etc of the ULBs employee.
IV. The winning ULB may formulate a scheme to reward its employee(s) for their outstanding contribution in performance of ULB or for his/her contribution towards a particular category/indicator. The scheme may contain a prize of upto Rs 5,000/-(Rupees Five Thousand Only). One employee can be considered for prize under one or more category/indicator, but the maximum prize money for an individual shall not exceed Rs 5,000/- irrespective of the number of categories for which he/she is being rewarded.

 

Timeline:

• The competition shall take place every year and prize will be distributed to winning Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats on 25th December every year on the birth anniversary of Late Sh. Atal Bihari Vajapyee (former Prime Minister of India).