New Delhi: Marking the completion of 10 years of the launch of one of the most significant mass movements for cleanliness – the Swachh Bharat Mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today participated in the Swachh Bharat Diwas 2024 program on the occasion of 155th Gandhi Jayanti on 2nd October in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Shri Modi launched and laid the foundation stone for several sanitation and cleanliness projects worth over Rs 9600 crore including projects under AMRUT and AMRUT 2.0, National Mission for Clean Ganga and GOBARdhan Scheme. The theme for Swachhata Hi Seva 2024 is ‘Swabhav Swachhata, Sanskaar Swachhata’.
Addressing the occasion, the Prime Minister noted the birth anniversaries of Pujya Bapu and Lal Bahadur Shastri ji and paid his respects to the sons of Maa Bharti. Shri Modi underlined that today’s occasion is a source of inspiration to realize the dreams of Mahatma Gandhi and other great personalities in a collective manner.
The Prime Minister said that he is filled with a sense of duty yet he is emotional at the same time on the 2nd of October. Marking the completion of 10 years of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the Prime Minister said, “The journey of Swachh Bharat Mission is a symbol of the unwavering commitment of crores of Indians.” He highlighted the high public support garnered by this movement in the last 10 years and said that every citizen of the country made it their own mission – a part of their lives. On the milestone of 10 years of Swachh Bharat, the Prime Minister praised the efforts of safaimitras, religious leaders, athletes, celebrities, NGOs and the media among others in transforming the Swachh Bharat Mission into a huge public movement. He also noted the contributions of the President of India and the Vice President of India, both former and present, towards Swachh Bharat in the form of Shramdaan, and thanked them for inspiring the nation. The Prime Minister highlighted the numerous cleanliness activities taking place today in villages, cities, and colonies, and also noted the active participation of state ministers, leaders and representatives. He informed that crores of people have taken part in the Swachhta hi Seva program in this edition of Swachhta Pakhwada, he said in the 15 days of Seva Pakhwada, more than 27 lakh programs were organized all over the country witnessing the participation of 28 crore people. Stressing the need for continuous efforts to keep India clean, the Prime Minister expressed gratitude towards every citizen of India.
Marking today’s important milestone, the Prime Minister highlighted that projects worth about Rs. 10,000 crore related to cleanliness have been started. He added that as part of ‘Mission Amrit’, water and sewage treatment plants would be set up in many cities. The Prime Minister underlined that be it the Namami Gange or the GobarDhan project of converting organic waste to biogas, will propel Swachh Bharat Mission to new heights. “The more successful the Swachh Bharat Mission is, the more our country will shine”, exclaimed Shri Modi.
The Prime Minister underscored that the Swachh Bharat Mission will be remembered even after 1000 years when a study on India will be conducted. “Swachh Bharat Mission is this century’s biggest and most successful people’s movement with people’s participation and people’s leadership”, exclaimed Shri Modi. He added that this mission had revealed the true energy and potential of the people to him. Shri Modi remarked that for him, cleanliness had become a festival of realization of people’s power. The Prime Minister recollected how lakhs of people joined hands when the Swachhta Abhiyan was started, be it marriage or a public function or any other place, the message of cleanliness was spread effectively. He said there were instances where old mothers had sold their cattle to build a toilet, some women had sold their mangalsutra, few people had sold their land, some retired teachers had donated their pension, some retired army personnel had donated their retirement benefits for the mission of cleanliness. The Prime Minister remarked that if the same donation was given to a temple or in any function, then it would have been a major headline in newspapers. He added that the country should know that there are lakhs of people, whose face was never shown on TV or whose name was never published in the newspaper, who had donated their money and valuable time to make this mission successful. Shri Modi said that all these instances reflect the character of India. Shri Modi highlighted that many people reignited the tradition of using jute and cloth bags while going to shop when he gave the clarion call to stop the usage of single-use plastic. He added that he was thankful to the people along with the industries involved in the production of single-use plastic for joining hands and supporting the initiative. He also thanked the political parties which supported the initiative.
Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri C R Patil, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Tokhan Sahu and Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Dr Raj Bhushan Choudhary were present on the occasion.
