Swachh Bharat Mission: PM Modi is catalyst for converting Mahatma Gandhi's vision into reality, says Hardeep Singh Puri

Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the catalyst for converting the vision of Mahatma Gandhi into reality by leading from the front and turning it into a people's movement.

New Delhi: Emphasising on the Centre's Swachh Bharat Mission, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the catalyst for converting the vision of Mahatma Gandhi into reality by leading from the front and turning it into a people's movement.

Puri launched the seventh consecutive edition of Swachh Survekshan (SS), the world's largest urban cleanliness survey conducted by Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) on Monday.

According to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Swachh Survekshan 2022 is curated towards capturing the initiatives of cities for the overall welfare and well-being of frontline sanitation workers. The survey will also give priority to the voices of senior citizens and young adults alike and reinforce their participation towards upholding the cleanliness of urban India.

Speaking at the occasion, the union minister said, "Swachh Bharat Mission is an important and transformative programme of the country which has achieved success due to the involvement of all stakeholders at the grassroot level. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the catalyst for converting the vision of Mahatma Gandhi into reality by leading from the front and converting it into a people's movement. The road to this success was not easy but today we have not only achieved ODF (Open Defecation Free) but also succeeded in solid waste management. Crores of Indian citizens are associated with movement and it is gaining from strength to strength."

Puri informed that Prime Minister Modi will launch the Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 and AMRUT 2.0 on October 1.

This year's Survekshan is committed to creating a level playing field for smaller cities by introducing two population categories under 15K and between 15-25K. To further expand the Survekshan footprint, district rankings have been introduced for the first time. The scope of the survey has been expanded to now cover 100 per cent wards for sampling, as compared to 40 per cent in previous years, informed the Ministry.

In order to seamlessly carry out this ambitious exercise, SS 2022 will see more than twice the number of assessors deployed last year for the on-field assessment. The upcoming edition of Survekshan shall usher in improved technological interventions such as digital tracking of documents, geo-tagging of sanitation and waste management of facilities for better efficiency, and QR code-based citizens' feedback for increased people outreach. Through these multi-faceted initiatives, the SS 2022 framework will propel the Mission towards a circular economy approach through optimum resource recovery, the Ministry said.

ANI