In the run up to the second anniversary of Swachchh Bharat Mission on October 2, the Government has drawn up elaborate action plans for urban and rural areas for a week-long intensive mass campaign including a day long ‘INDOSAN-2016’ (India Sanitation Conference) on September 30 to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi.
Modi will take stock of the progress of the campaign in urban and rural areas under the mission which was launched with much fanfare on Gandhi Jayanti in 2014 and also at the way forward.
The INDOSAN will also seek to renew the commitment at the highest political level to ensure Clean India by 2019, said a senior official from the Union Urban Development Ministry.
The Prime Minister will facilitate best performers in 11 different categories for their spirited towards ensuring cleanliness at the event to be attended by Chief Ministers, Ministers In-charge of Urban Development and Sanitation and representatives from the States and cities besides voluntary organisation and private sector.
Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha will chair an Inter-Ministerial Plenary Session on ‘Enhancing Convergence for Swachchh Bharat Mission.
The Government has planned a range of activities during the week long campaign beginning from September 25th. A large scale grass root events involving Sarpanchas and others in rural areas, declaration and celebration of 141 cities becoming Open Defecation Free, ODF campaigns in urban areas involving 19,000 Swachhagrahis and others are also proposed.
In addition, cleaning drives at 10 of the 100 identified iconic places in the country, Chai pe Charcha on sanitation and Ratri Chaupals in Gram Panchayats and Cities/Towns, cleanliness campaigns led by Members of Parliament in their respective constituencies has also been planned.
According to Rural Development Minister Narender Singh Tomar, over 80,000 villages across the country have achieved the target of constructing 100 per cent toilets while 21 districts have now become open defecation free.
Taking about the SBM progress in the urban areas, Venkaiah Naidu, Union Urban Development Minister said that since the first Swachchh Survekshan Survey among 73 cities with population of million and above each in January this year, 115 cities have become ‘ODF’ and another 793 cities and towns are set to become so by March next year.
Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala will become ODF by March, 2017, Naidu said recently.
The Minister stated that since the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission in October, 2014, construction of 21 lakh household individual toilets has been completed and construction of another 21 lakh toilets is in progress. The mission target in this regard is construction of 1.04 cr toilets by 2019.