Broom time in India

New Delhi: Launching the “Swachh Bharat Mission” on Thursday, the Prime Minister initiated his own version of the ALS ice bucket challenge as he nominated nine eminent citizens including Sachin Tendulkar, Shashi Tharoor, Anil Ambani,  Priyanka Chopra, Salman Khan and Kamal Haasan to spread awareness on the issue while asking each of them to nominate nine more people so that the chain continues.

“I am not making a political statement. All governments of this country must have done their bit for this cause. Many social, cultural and religious leaders must have contributed towards this task. There may have been different people, different forms of programmes, I salute all of them. I have to take this series forward,” he  said in his address.

“Sometimes I feel that the job of getting rid of filth belongs to safai karmchari only? Isn’t it the duty of all our 125 crore countrymen? Will we keep on imposing everything on them only? Something good happens, or bad, will we keep on blaming them only? We have to change this situation,” he said.

Maintaining that the “Clean India” campaign will succeed only if it is converted into a mass movement, Mr Modi said if Indians can reach Mars with minimum expense then why can’t they clean their neighbourhoods?

The PM said he was ready to face all criticism for “making Mother India pristine once again. I have come with the determination that 125 crore Indians will not let Mother India remain dirty. We will not leave any stone unturned to fulfil Bapu’s dreams.”

He said the country should gift Mahatma Gandhi a “swachchh Bharat” on his 150th birth anniversary on October 2, 2019. President Pranab Mukherjee launched the campaign at Kirnahar Shib Chandra High School in WB, where he had studied, and said every Indian should devote two hours daily, or at least 100 hours annually, to the drive.

Money matters:

Rs 2 lakh crore is the expected cost of the ‘Clean India’ campaign.

The five-year-long campaign will cover 4,041 statutory towns. The PM has asked the people to devote 100 hours per year that is two hours per week to voluntary work for cleanliness.

Government has set up a Swachh Bharat Kosh to attract funds from corporates and individuals to improve sanitation facilities, particularly in schools.

CII has announced it would mobilise its members to build 10,000 toilets across the country by 2015-16.

GAIL (India) announced its plan to build 1021 bio-toilets in the country to provide hygienic sanitation facilities for girl students under ‘Swachh Bharat’

Urban development ministry will allocate Rs 62,000 crore for cleaning towns across the country and the ministry of drinking water and sanitation will spend Rs 1 lakh 34,000 crores for the programme.

President Pranab Mukherjee sweeps with the students of Kirnahar Shib Chandra High School as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in Birbhum, West Bengal.(Photo: PTI)