The Government has announced a five-year Clean India Mission for urban areas, which will be implemented for 4,041 towns at a cost of over ₹62,000 crore.

The Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said that the mission will be launched on October 2. “This will include elimination of open defecation, conversion of insanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, municipal solid waste management, bringing about a behavioural change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices, generating awareness among citizens about sanitation and its linkages with public health beside others,” he told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The Centre will contribute ₹14, 623 crore. It will cover 1.04 crore households, provide 2.5 lakh seats of community toilets, 2.6 lakh seats of public toilets and solid waste management facility for all towns. Community toilets will be proposed in residential areas, where it is difficult to construct individual household toilets, public toilets will be constructed in designated locations such as tourist places, markets, bus stations, near railway stations and places of public recreation, wherever required.

The scheme will be part of a joint Swachh Bharat Mission to be implemented for rural areas by the Drinking Water and Sanitation Ministry while Urban Development Ministry will implement this in urban areas. It has also been decided to merge Swachh Bharat Mission for rural areas with Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan.

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