New Delhi: In a bid to promote the ambitious 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' (Clean India Mission), Union Human Resource Development Minister (HRD) Smriti Irani on Wednesday morning made a surprise visit to a government school in Delhi and participated in a cleaning drive.
The Minister visited Kendriya Vidyalaya at Sector 8 in RK Puram area. She used a broom and shovel to clean the ground of the school and appealed people to become part of this campaign and contribute their efforts to make the drive a big success.
The Union Cabinet had on Wednesday gave its approval for restructuring of ‘Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan' into ‘Swachh Bharat Mission'. The programme is aimed at creating a clean India by 2019 with people's participation.
The total expected cost of the programme for over five years is Rs 62,009 crores, out of which the proposed Central assistance will be of Rs 14,623 crores.
The programme includes elimination of open defecation, conversion of insanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, municipal solid waste management, bringing about a behavioural change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices, generating awareness among citizens about sanitation and its linkages with public health, strengthening of urban local bodies to design, execute and operate systems to fulfil these objectives and creating an enabling environment for private sector participation in capital expenditure and operational expenditure.
