PM for institutionalising Mission Swachh Bharat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday emphasised the need for creating a legal architecture to institutionalise "Mission Swachh Bharat" at all levels from the village upward, a statement from the Prime Minister's Office said.

Chairing a high-level meeting to review preparations for the launch of "Mission Swachh Bharat", Modi said that the initiative should become the agenda of the entire country, in the form of a mass movement to be launched Oct 2, the birth anniversary of father of nation Mahatma Gandhi.

He asked the ministry of rural development to explore the possibility of giving incentives to best performing villages. He also called for standards of cleanliness to be established for government offices.

Mission Swachh Bharat aims at creating a clean India by 2019, when the country celebrates 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who laid great emphasis on cleanliness.

Modi further said the activities on Oct 2 should not be limited to official functions in the national capital.

"Activities related to cleanliness should be undertaken in each and every village across the country, he said, highlighting the need for working together with state governments to make this mission a success.

Various union ministries, including the ministries of urban development, rural development, human resource development, and information and broadcasting, presented their ideas on the mission during the meet.