Itanagar, Jan 26 (IANS): The Arunachal Pradesh government has introduced awards for cleanest villages to promote the healthy living through cleanliness and nine villages were selected for the first-ever honour, officials said on Wednesday.

An official of Arunachal Pradesh government said that on the occasion of the Statehood Day Celebration on February 20, the "Chief Minister's Awards for cleanest Village" was introduced in each district of the state for ensuring a healthy, hygienic and lively social environment.

Among the 25 districts, nine villages from as many districts were selected for the Chief Minister's Cleanest Village Award for the year 2021.

These awards are meant for promoting the essence of healthy living through cleanliness to deter the incidence of illness and to promote sustenance of public amenities for overall growth of the state, the official said.

The awards would be conferred to the villages at a function later on.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu tweeted: "We have introduced the Chief Minister's Award for Cleanest Village to encourage collective effort towards cleanliness for a healthy and developed society. Winners of the Award for the year 2021 were announced today on 73rd Republic Day celebration. Congratulations to all the winners!"