Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that the Swachh Bharat Mission had a positive impact on people and it changed the mindset to an extent that even children now don’t throw toffee wrappers at public places. The Prime Minister said this while launching Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 (SBM-U) with the aim to ensure ‘Garbage-Free’ cities.
“Toffee wrappers are now no more thrown on the floor. These are rather kept in the pocket. Children even ask elders not to litter around,” the PM said. He expressed satisfaction that the young generation has come forward to support the cleanliness mission.
मैं इस बात से बहुत खुश होता हूं कि स्वच्छता अभियान को मजबूती देने का बीड़ा हमारी आज की पीढ़ी ने उठाया हुआ है।
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) October 1, 2021
टॉफी के रैपर अब जमीन पर नहीं फेंके जाते, बल्कि पॉकेट में रखे जाते हैं।
छोटे-छोटे बच्चे, अब बड़ों को टोकते हैं कि गंदगी मत करिए: PM @narendramodi
The Prime Minister also inaugurated Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0 (AMRUT). He launched both the programme through video-conferencing and said that SBM-U and AMRUT 2.0 are in “the line of our commitment to ensure top quality urban spaces that are garbage-free and water-secure,” to support the rapid urbanization of India.
He reminded how the nation had taken a pledge in 2014 to make India Open Defecation Free by 2019 and the target was achieved as 10 crore toilets were constructed.
We are committed to ensuring cleaner and better urban spaces. Watch my speech. https://t.co/5rP37YGogd
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 1, 2021
He said that the second phase of SBM-U will help to remove mountains of garbage from cities, adding that Delhi too has one such mountain of garbage. Through AMRUT 2.0, the government aims to provide safe drinking water and improve sewerage and drainage systems across the country. It will also focus on grey and black water management. The PM said that both the programmes are the mission as well as pride of the country and this is an attempt to save rivers and water sources of the country.
The SBM 2.0 will focus on source segregation of solid waste, utilizing the principles of 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle), scientific processing of all types of municipal solid waste, and remediation of legacy dumpsites for effective solid waste management.
The Prime Minister said that when SBM was launched in 2014, less than 20 per cent of the total waste could be processed.
“India is currently processing about one lakh tonne of waste every day. In 2014, when Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was launched, less than 20 per cent of the waste generated in the country every day could be processed. Today about 70 per cent of daily waste is processed but we have to take it to 100 per cent,” he said.
He said that waste processing has also become the source of income that benefits people. He informed that both programmes are part of the visions of Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar who emphasized that urbanization can remove evils of social disparity. He said that under the second phase, the government aims to provide 2.64 crore sewerage connections, 2.68 crore water connections.
The Prime Minister remembered how the Nirmal Gujarat Abhiyan became a public campaign and received a huge response in Gujarat when it was launched in 2007. He said that Gujarat received benefits of this campaign in the long run as it developed good civil sense and also boosted the tourism sector.
But the Prime Minister at the same time also advised that maintaining cleanliness is not an affair of a day, a fortnight and a year. “Cleanliness is lifestyle, cleanliness is life mantra and all should participate in it,” he said.
