Former President late Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was quite impressed with the Cleanliness Campaign conducted by the Chhattisgarh Government and Nirmal Gram villages of the State, officials stated.
In year 2006, 13 Gram Panchayats of Rajnandgaon district were selected by the Central Government for Nirmal Gram Award, said Secretary, Public Relations Department, Ganesh Shankar Mishra.
Rajnandgaon was the first district of the State to have its Gram Panchayats selected for this prestigious award. Public Representatives elected from these Gram Panchayats had received Nirmal Gram National Award at the hands of the then President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, at a function organized at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.
At that time, Mishra was Collector of Rajnandgaon District. Public Representatives of those Gram Panchayats had received the award under the leadership of Mishra.
Dr Kalam was pleased to know that 13 Gram Panchayats of a newly-formed State like Chhattisgarh have been simultaneously selected for this National Award.
In his interaction with Mishra and Sarpanchs of the Gram Panchayats, Dr Kalam had asked about the measures taken in these villages to successfully transform them into Nirmal Grams.
The then Collector Mishra had told Dr Kalam about the success stories of these villages.
He told that Sampoorna Swachhta Abhiyan has been launched in the State, under the leadership of Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, to ensure clean surroundings in these Gram Panchayats with public participation.
It is noteworthy that after the Gram Panchayats of Rajnandgaon district were awarded Nirmal Gram Award, other districts of Chhattisgarh were also motivated in this direction, creating a positive environment in rural areas of the State for cleanliness campaign.