Waste To Wealth: Centre Eyes Rs 1,000 Crore Revenue From Scrap Disposal

New Delhi: The Centre is eyeing a whopping Rs 1,000 crore revenue from scrap disposal after the completion of the third edition of its ‘Swacchata’ campaign next month, a senior official said. Speaking to PTI, V Srinivas, Secretary of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG), said the Central government is deeply committed to institutionalising ‘swachhata’ (cleanliness) and minimising pendency in all its departments. The ‘special campaign 3.0’, third phase of the ‘Swacchata’ drive, will be conducted from October 2 to 31 in all departments with a focus on outstation offices having a public interface.

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Mr Srinivas, a 1989 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Rajasthan cadre said,

The success of the ‘special campaign 2.0’ was institutionalised with all ministries or departments conducting the Swachhata campaign for three hours per week throughout the year. Over 100 nodal officers implemented the campaign.

Since the conduct of the ‘Swacchata’ campaign 2.0 in October 2022, the drive has been held at 1.37 lakh sites so far, generating Rs 520 crore from scrap items.

As many as 50 lakh files were weeded out, 172 lakh sq ft of office space freed up and 31.35 lakh public grievances cases redressed during the second phase of the cleanliness campaign, the officer said.

Mr Srinivas told PTI,

It is expected that by October 31, 2023, a cumulative progress of Rs 1,000 crore can be expected from disposal of office scrap.

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He said that another 100 lakh sq ft of office space is likely to be freed up during the month-long third phase of the campaign.

This special drive by the Centre, whose first edition was launched in October 2021, focuses on cleanliness, including the disposal of scrap and reducing pendency in government departments.

The preparatory phase of the ‘special campaign 3.0’ will be launched by Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh on September 14 at the National Media Centre here, Mr Srinivas said.

During this preparatory phase from September 15 to 30, all departments need to identify pending references and campaign sites for cleanliness besides assessing the volume of redundant materials to be disposed of, among others, he added.

In the implementation phase from October 2 to 31, all departments will make efforts to achieve the targets identified in the preparatory phase, utilise the campaign to improve record management and document the best practices evolved during the campaign.

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Another senior official said,

Such cleanliness drives have been hugely successful. Through these campaigns, the Centre has been able to convert waste into wealth by disposal of scrap.

This year’s special campaign is expected to bring in significant innovative practices and systemic reform for a conducive work environment, he said.

The officer said,

All central government offices are expected to ensure cleanliness in their premises, including inside the office building and outside as well during and after the special cleanliness drive 3.0.

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(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF)status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.