The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, chaired a high-level meeting on Mission Swacch Bharat today. He called for making Swacch Bharat a mass movement, and linking it to economic activity.
Mission Swacch Bharat will be launched on October 2nd, with Gandhiji as the inspiration, to create a Clean India of Gandhiji's dreams by the Mahatma's 150th birth anniversary in 2019. The Prime Minister said all Government departments will actively participate in this mission. Government offices upto Panchayat level shall be involved in a cleanliness drive that shall be conducted from September 25th, till Diwali.
If the people of India clean their homes in due course around Diwali every year, why can this attitude not be extended to overall cleanliness and Swacch Bharat, the Prime Minister asked, calling for a change in governance attitude towards hygiene and sanitation. He said the pursuit of cleanliness can be an economic activity, contributing to GDP growth, reduction in healthcare costs, and a source of employment.
Linking cleanliness to tourism and global interest in India, the Prime Minister said world-class levels of hygiene and cleanliness are required in India's top fifty tourist destinations, to bring about a paradigm shift in India's global perception.
The Prime Minister reiterated his vision of solid waste management and waste water management through the PPP model in 500 towns and cities across India.
The meeting was attended by Union Ministers Shri Arun Jaitley, Shri Venkaiah Naidu and Shri Nitin Gadkari. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Cabinet Secretary and other senior Government officials were present.
