New Delhi: Over 2,47,000 village panchayats in the country will get Rs 20 lakh per annum for 'Clean India' campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.
Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation Nitin Gadkari made this announcement after participating in the 'Swachh Bharat' cleanliness drive initiated by his ministry officials in the premises of Krishi Bhawan here.
"We have decided that we will provide Rs 20 lakh to each village panchayat and they should make the village clean," Gadkari said.
"We will provide this money yearly and we are going to give money to few villages very soon," the Minister said.
He sought the support of sarpanches, teachers and students in the country's over 2,47,000 gram panchayats for the successful implementation of programme that is to be completed on October 2, 2019, coinciding with the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
"We will complete this mission of cleanliness by taking support of sarpanchs, teachers and students," he said.
"Each gram panchayat will spend Rs 20 lakh. The money will be in the discretion of gram panchayats and they will spend it on sanitation," Gadkari said.
Officials said the money would be provided from a fund of Rs 1,96,000 crore announced by the government for Clean India Mission over a five-year period.
While the Urban Development Ministry will allocate Rs 62,000 crore for cleaning towns across the country, the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation will spend Rs 1,34,000 crore for the programme.
Wielding the broom, Modi today launched the country's biggest-ever cleanliness drive, asserting that the "Swachh Bharat" mission is "beyond politics" and inspired by patriotism.
