While launching the biggest ever cleanliness drive in India, Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, on October 2, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had appealed to every citizen of the country to devote at least 100 hours a year for cleanliness work voluntarily. The Government also allocated around Rs 2 lakh crore for the next five years in order to make India clean by 2019. The entire mission aims at complete elimination of open defecation, constructing public and community toilets, maintenance of toilets, municipal solid waste management, cleaning of roads and pavements and most important of all, changing the mindset of the people and encouraging them to be cleanliness conscious. The Prime Minister has also urged that this should be a nationwide campaign, a people’s movement where individuals, corporations, political parties, NGOs, religious groups should participate to make it a success.
Also, the Government has set up the Swachh Bharat Kosh (SBK) so that big and small corporations provide help to the mission by donating funds in the form of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and also to attract funds from individual volunteers.
It is heartening to see that many private and public companies have supported the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and have already started implementing it. We give below the names of some leading organizations that have supported and contributed to this great cleanliness drive.
Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC)
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), launched a major cleaning campaign in all its work centres on Gandhi Jayanti under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. The mission was first launched at Rajahmundry, which is one of ONGC’s large operational areas in Andhra Pradesh, by a pledge by all the employees. This was followed in other ONGC offices in various parts of the country. As a part of their CSR, the ONGC has promised to construct toilets in 2500 Government schools in 26 districts spread over 13 States, along with other initiatives, during the current financial year.
The ONGC has allocated Rs 100 crore for this programme, which has been named as Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan by ONGC officials. It has already been launched in two schools in Ganjam, eight schools in Gajapati districts of Odisha and in 10 schools near ONGC work centres in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Tripura. The organisation has also come up with slogan writing, press conference, walkathons, etc. to create public awareness on cleanliness and work towards improvement of overall health and environment. The ONGC has already signed an MoU with the Archaeological Survey of India and the Ministry of Tourism for conservation and cleanliness of Taj Mahal, the historical monument of India, at a cost of 20.75 crore.
Public Sector Undertakings ( PSUs)
The Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) under the Ministries of Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, have announced the construction of 50,000 toilets in schools by 2015 next year August; the work on 1001 toilets has already started. These PSUs have also earmarked 50% of the CSR for the construction of these toilets during the financial years 2014-15 and 2015-16. The major PSUs involved in this programme and the States they are covering with the number of toilets to build in schools are given below:
- NTPC: Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, Odisha, Rajasthan,UP and West Bengal – 240 toilets
- Power Finance Corporation (PFC): Rajasthan – 72 toilets
- SJVN Limited: Himachal Pradesh, 21 toilets
- POWERGRID: AP, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, MP, Odisha and Telegana – 90 toilets
- National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC ): Assam, WB, J&K, HP, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and West Bengal – 56 toilets
- Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC): UP – 90 toilets
- Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd (NLC): Tamil Nadu- 25 toilets
- THDC India Limited ( THDCIL): Uttarakhand – 5 toilets
- Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA): Chhattisgarh – 4 toilets
- North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO): Assam – 6 toilets
- Coal India Limited ( CIL): Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, MP, Chhattisgarh, UP, Assam – 400 toilets
L&T
As a part of its CSR, infrastructure conglomerate Larsen & Toubro announced that it will build 5000 toilets in various parts of the country under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. L&T said the company along with L&T Public Charitable Trust will construct 2,000 toilets in the first phase and will also invest in other initiatives like water supply, healthcare and skill training institutes.
Dabur
Dabur has joined in the campaign by launching Swachh Toilet, in which the company will provide germ-free public toilets across the country. It has also announced that it will contribute one Sani Fresh Toilet Cleaner from the sale of every pack of this cleaner, to maintain clean toilets in the country.
Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has also actively participated in Clean India campaign and has promised to provide sanitation facilities in schools. It has promised to mobilise construction of 10,000 toilets by 2015-16 through its CSR.
Gail
Gail has announced that as a part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the organisation will construct 1,021 toilets across India, with separate toilet facilities for girls in schools, which in turn will help in reducing dropouts and help in increasing female literacy. It has announced a Rs 27 crore bio-toilet programme. The PSU is committed to improve sanitation facilities for girls at schools. Construction of toilets has already started in four districts: Jhabua (310) in Madhya Pradesh, Khurda (243 toilets) , Nayagarh (132) in Odisha, and East Godavari (336) in Andhra Pradesh .
Bharti Foundation
Rs 100 crore has been allocated by Bharti Foundation to build toilets in Ludhiana.
Tata Consultancy Services
TCS has also promised to contribute Rs 100 crore for constructing toilets and providing sanitation facilities for girls in 10,000 schools.
Vedanta
Vedanta group pledged that it will build 10,000 toilets more. It has already been involved in building 30,000 toilets in a partnership with Rajasthan Government.
Corporation Bank, Mangalore
The bank has launched Swachh Vidyalaya Scheme in which 100 toilets will be constructed across the country in the schools which do not have toilet facilities. The bank will be constructing five toilets in the schools in Udupi region of the bank.
Hotels and Real Estate Developers
Prominent hotels like Radisson and Park Inn, run by Global hotel chain Carlson Rezidor will build toilets in the Delhi-NCR area for girls in schools. Employees of Lemon Tree Hotels also pledged that they will invest 100 hours a year to clean areas around their premises in the country.
Unitech, a prominent real estate developer plans to take residents’ and other stakeholders’ active participation in a drive to clean up areas around the projects it has launched across the country. Ajay Chandra, managing director at Unitech, said that a mass movement is required to make the mission a success and it is not only about spending money but also about incorporating a civic sense among the people.
DLF Promenade has posted in their Facebook official page, “Dear literate Indian, stop littering India. Use dustbins, join the Clean India Campaign.” The group has also announced that it will tie up with some schools and get in students to spread awareness and also influence the customers’ mind when they come to the malls.
Conclusion
Responding to Modi’s call to participate in Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, it is really very overwhelming to see so many public and private companies supporting the mission and contributing towards its success. Each of these has already drawn up plans to fulfil their promise to construct toilets, provide sanitation and clean up their surroundings, and support the mission.
