Government departments earmark Rs 16,500 crore for Swachh Bharat Mission in 2018-19

NEW DELHI: A sum of Rs 16,500 crore has been earmarked by 71 ministries and departments of the central government for implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) in 2018-19.

The amount is over and above the budget of ministries in-charge of sanitation in the country i.e. the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation for Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban).

The Swachhata Action Plan (SAP) 2018-19 was launched by Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha at a meeting of Union secretaries and senior officials here today.


The SAP Compendium 2018-19 was also released on this occasion.

"The Committee of Secretaries led by the cabinet secretary today reviewed the implementation of SAP 2017-18 by Union ministries/departments. During last year, the ministries had allocated over Rs 18,000 crore. At the review meeting, the cabinet secretary underlined that efforts under SAP needed to be sustained by the respective ministries," an official statement said.

"The cabinet secretary emphasised that all secretaries needed to personally monitor implementation of SAP on a regular basis. He said each ministry should look beyond its own programmes and schemes, and bring innovation in the implementation of SAP," it said.

Sinha also called for a higher allocation of funds and higher utilisation in SAP.

Parameswaran Iyer, secretary, Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, gave a presentation on the performance of the Swachhata Action Plan for the year 2017-18 at the meeting. He also presented a brief on SAP 2018-19, which will be implemented by ministries and departments during the current financial year.

Selected ministries/departments who had performed well in SAP last year talked about their success stories.