Karnal, July 27 -- Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Saturday announced a new initiative where cities securing the top three positions in the national cleanliness rankings will mentor those at the bottom. The aim is to collectively raise sanitation standards and advance Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a developed India by 2047. Khattar made the announcement during the Safai Mitra Samman ceremony at Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College in Karnal. The event celebrated Karnal municipal corporation's receipt of the President's Award under Swachh Survekshan 2024-25. He explained that henceforth, the top and bottom-ranked cities will be paired. "Cleanliness rankings will be assessed jointly for both. A top city can retain its position only if its paired city also shows improvement," he said. Congratulating Karnal's sanitation workers, officials, and public representatives, Khattar announced a Rs.5,000 reward for each of the 1,380 sanitation staff. He also felicitated several key workers and municipal staff for their contributions. Khattar emphasised the need to instill cleanliness values early, citing Japan's model where schoolchildren begin their day with cleaning. He added that cleanliness competitions will now also be held in villages across Karnal district. Haryana assembly speaker Harvinder Kalyan, Karnal MLA Jagmohan Anand, and other dignitaries were present. Later, Khattar visited Panipat to inspect the under-construction BJP district office and interacted with families outside a CET exam centre. Manohar Lal Khattar has said it is being spread that the crime in Haryana has increased, but according to the comparative figures from the Congress government, it has instead reduced. "I've also seen the figures which suggest that if compared with 10 years of Congress rule in the state, the crime in every region has reduced by 10-20%. Though, population has also risen in the 10 years (of BJP rule) and if population is taken into consideration, there is more of a decline," he told the reporters in Karnal. He was responding to a question by a journalist. Khattar, who is also Karnal MP, said that in case of any occurrence of crime, the success of any government or the police is based on how quickly it is traced and those involved are arrested. Infact, Khattar said, in most of the criminal cases, the reasons are personal. "You see what happened recently in Jind (murder of a doctor). There was a collision between two cars that led to an argument and later turned into a murder. So we can't say that miscreant elements persist but most of the cases are personal," he said. When asked about a recent statement by former MLA Gopal Kanda on their support to INLD leader Abhay Chautala during the assembly elections, Khattar dismissed the claims. "We vacated Sirsa's seat for Kanda, where he could not win. Other than this, we did not have any role to play," he said....