Rs 9,000 crore allocated for Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan

Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Monday announced allocation of '9,000 crore for Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan, the country’s biggest drive to improve sanitation and cleanliness, especially in rural areas.

“This (cleanliness) subject was very close to the heart of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi. The government has allocated '9,000 crore for Swachchh Bharat Abhiyan,” Mr Jaitley said while presenting the general Budget 2016-17 in the Lok Sahha.

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 2, 2014 on Gandhi’s 145th birth anniversary, the mission is a national campaign, covering 4,041 statutory cities and towns.

For the first time since Independence, Mr Jaitley said Parliament held a comprehensive debate on sanitation. “This has become a topic of discussion in almost every home. We have introduced ranking of urban areas in sanitation which has resulted in constructive competition among towns and cities,” he said.