Comments
Statistics and reality are often vastly different in India and to address this issue Jairam Ramesh, Minister of Rural Development, announced the plan to set up an NGO Forum for independent evaluation.
Ramesh said the Forum, which would comprise 30 Non-Governmental Organisations, would serve as an independent agency for evaluation of progress under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan.
Further, the Minister said that under the Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan one Swachhata Prerak, or Sanitation Coordinator, has been assigned for every district. These coordinators would help villages become open, defecation-free and achieve the status of Nirmal Gram. The Government is putting in Rs 1,500 crore for this purpose.
Ramesh unveiled a Website, using which the coordinators would be required to submit a weekly report on the work progress in their districts.
“One decision we have taken is that the country’s 13 lakh Anganwadi workers and 8.5 lakh Asha volunteers would be included in the sanitation program. Also, we have decided that the six to seven lakh Aganwadi centres that need to be constructed over the next five years, would be joined with the MGNREGA,” Ramesh said.
He added that the Government aims to turn 29,500 Gram Panchayats into Nirmal Gram this year.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.