AP Bags Three Swachh Bharat Awards

Adding yet another feather to its cap, Andhra Pradesh bagged three awards. Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat gave away Swacch Bharat Awards 2020 to states, districts, blocks, and Village village panchayats on 2nd October. The Union Government had earlier launched three missions under  Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shouchalaya, Samudayik Shouchalaya Abhiyan, and Gandagi Mukth Bharat.

Under 'Swachh Sundar Shauchalaya National Award' category, Andhra Pradesh bagged the second rank. AP also awarded with Samudayik Shouchalaya Abhiyan and Gandagi Mukth Bharat. The state ranked third in the aforementioned two categories.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy has been instrumental in getting the awards to the state at the national level. The village secretariat system, which the state government has ambitiously brought in, has yielded good results. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan campaign launched on 2 October 2014 on birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Every year Gandhi Jayanthi is celebrated as 'Swachh Bharat Diwas'.

Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh were awarded as the best performing states under the Samudayik Shouchalaya Abhiyan. Mr. Shekhawat, speaking on the occasion, said that the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) has transformed rural India into a Jan Andolan for achieving Open Defecation Free (ODF). He said that Phase II of the SBM(G), which focuses on ODF sustainability and Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM) aimed at comprehensive cleanliness in villages.

Shekhawat said that the government is committed to maintaining the country's zero open defecation. Special care will be taken to conserve swachhata in public places and to create more community sanitation complexes to ensure access to safe sanitation for all, he said.