New Delhi: The government on Monday announced allocation of Rs 11,300 crore for both rural and urban areas for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Centre’s biggest drive to improve sanitation and cleanliness across the country.
The Budget 2016-17 has earmarked Rs 9,000 crore for rural areas, while Rs 2,300 crore for the urban areas. “This (cleanliness) subject was very close to the heart of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. The government has allocated Rs 9,000 crore for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (for rural areas),” Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said while presenting in the Lok Sabha on Monday.
For urban areas, the government allocated Rs 2,300 crore to implement the mission. Launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2014, the mission is a national campaign, covering 4,041 statutory cities and towns.
For the “first time” since Independence, he said the Parliament held a debate on sanitation. “We have introduced ranking of urban areas in sanitation which has resulted in constructive competition among towns and cities,” he said.
