In a bid to ensure that the momentum in Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan, launched in 2014, is maintained, the Govern-ment on Monday announced allocation of Rs 9,000 crore for the country’s biggest drive to improve sanitation and cleanliness, especially in rural India.
“This (cleanliness) subject was very close to the heart of the Father of the Nation. For the first time since independence, the Parliament held a comprehensive debate on sanitation. This has become a topic of discussion in almost every home.
“We have introduced ranking of urban areas in sanitation which has resulted in constructive competition among towns and cities. Rs 9,000 crore has been provided for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,” said Arun Jaitely, Finance Minister.
In order to continue this momentum, priority allocation from Centrally Sponsored Schemes will be made to reward villages that have become free from open defecation, he added.
launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2, 2014 on Gandhi’s 145th birth anniversary, the mission is a national campaign, covering 4,041 statutory cities and towns.
For implementation of the Mission in the urban areas, the Ministry has doubled allocation to Rs 2,300 crore from revised estimate for 2015-16 at Rs 1,000 crore.