Govt spent over Rs 6,500 crore on Swachh Bharat in 2015-16

The government has spent over Rs 6,500 crore to fulfil Prime Minister Narendra Modi's flagship Swachh Bharat Mission - Gramin, the government said today. 

In a response to a question asked in the Lok Sabha, Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Narendra Singh Tomar told the Lower House of the Parliament that Rs 6,524.52 crore has been utilised for the Swachh Bharat Mission in 2015-16. The government had allocated Rs 6,525 crore for the scheme. 

The government aims to achieve 'Swachh Bharat' by October 2, 2019. Adding to his response, Tomar said, "till August 8, 212.98 lakh toilets had been constructed, and 17 districts, 232 blocks, 32,395 gram panchayats and 72,727 villages have been declared Open Defecation Free".

Apart from this, Tomar apprised the House about the drinking water schemes, saying that there were over 57,400 schemes going on in different states to take drinking water to the rural areas. The government utilised Rs 4,369.55 crore under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme, from the total allocation of Rs 4,373 crore.